about that kaupapa life...

We all know it. Though it may look different for me as it does to you, we each have kaupapa (causes) we care for, value and are passionate about. It could be whānau, family, work (paid and unpaid lol a lot of them unpaid.. financially anyway ), sports, community, service, health, development…

we’re alllllll about that kaupapa life.

But pause for a second and think of what a typical ‘busy’ week of kaupapa would look like for you. Now think of the different energies, wairua, mauri and egos you’re mixing together. For example, in the past week I had the book launch, travelled to Nelson for the first stop of the book tour, up to Auckland the next day, went to Ihumātao that night to keep the front line company til Tamanui appeared (6am) then spoke at a conference at 10am, went back to Ihumātao for a bit before flying down to Ōtautahi for the next stop of the tour… lol which brings us to today where I had wānanga at the University of Canterbury, followed by getting out to climb one of the maunga here.* It’s been a jam packed week, with a whole lot of different kaupapa and other things coming together

— a whole lot of different energies compounding.

If we think about the whakapapa (connections) coming together, what we’re allowing to interact with us or vice versa and what we’re letting into our space — how can we ensure that we’re going into each kaupapa safely (spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically)? How can we prevent carrying the weight and energies of one kaupapa longer than we need to? Or from transferring to the next kaupapa?

How many of us have had a bad day at work, or during the day, then have carried that back home? Or flip that, a bad time at home and carried it with us during the day?

How can we be about that kaupapa life more effectively?

How can we be smarter about how we commit to the kaupapa we care about? Well, I’m not about to start telling you what to do ha you can figure that out for yourself, but here’s what I do and it might give you some ideas.. My go-to’s that reset me every time are getting out into the taiao (natural environment) and karakia. Ev - ry - tiiiiiiime.

Plugging into that unlimited source of energy from our tupuna (ancestors) and time for myself to reflect on what’s been happening, reaffirm the vision and gain clarity on how to materialise it. And hohhhh doesn’t take me too long to realise when I haven’t made time for this. The end result is burn out and I’m sure you can guess the parts of the whakapapa (process) that precede it, including frustration and physical fatigue.. not a fun time.

The answers might be in the transitions, as we shift from one kaupapa to the other, from one space and energy frequency to another, from one expression of ourselves to another.

Define what that is for you.

Design a ritual, habit or routine you can implement into your daily life or when you’re on the road (note to self ha) or wherever and whatever you’re up to so that you can go into each kaupapa that fills your life up, intentionally and deliberately.

Tēnā tātou,

Hana.

*Just stating facts e te whānau. Definitely not bragging as I believe being ‘busy’ is not something to celebrate or encourage and 100% not an equivalence of success. Not to me anyway, and I love it, it’s all good kaupapa but there’s a price (health) and I’m working on balancing it all out.. I want to be about the kaupapa life, more effectively. #watchthisspace lol