riding the waves and getting swept up in it

There are different phases for different phases.. some are defined by the Gregorian calendar — like birthdays, months and weeks. or if you’re lucky those are all one in the same like mine has been so far haha there are environmental cues in the taiao like the maramataka (Māori lunar calendar), or we could look out for different cues and

observe other interactions at play that tell us we’re transitioning into a new/different phase.

The start or end of a position, a perspective, a connection, a relationship, a different belief system, moving to another city or country. Milestones for a project or goal, whatever works for you. Consider this,

“an indisputable law of physics, water always finds the lowest level in an incredibly efficient manner. It penetrates any crevice or path that will facilitate its downward flow.. in our physical world, water is as efficient as gravity is unforgiving.

the body is comprised of more than 70% water and it is always tragic when human beings, true to their chemical composition, emulate the efficiency of water during dark, difficult periods in their lives, allowing one misstep or transgression to lead to lower and lower descent…

water can be beautiful to watch as it cascades downward in its transparent and fluid simplicity, but some human beings also have a tendency to fall and sink, like water without the beauty.”

― Michael Bowe, Skyscraper of a Man

A lot to process. So take your time with that and when you’re ready, add this whakaaro (thought) to the mix too, “all streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. humility gives it its power. if you want to govern the people, you must place yourself below them. if you want to lead the people, you must learn how to follow them — Lao Tzu.

Both these are true. They both speak of the downward trajectory wai (water) travels in and the metaphors woven into it but the different perspectives we can interpret from them are very different. We see it in the taiao (natural environment), whakapapa (genealogy, science) tells us the sequence of how water travels down from the mountains to the valleys or out to sea; the phases it goes through, transitioning from one state to another.

Its natural laws determine that water will flow downward into the deepest cracks of any space — which is awesome considering the power and role wai has to heal, to cleanse, to restore, nourish and give life. But in the example mentioned above by pāpā Michael Bowe,

— if we ride the waves and we get swept up in them, we can get pulled down by the undertow and become consumed by that darkness..

Each of those phases the bodies of water go through serve specific purposes, deliberate functions. The twists and turns, the darkness we enter into, the rapids, the undertow are part of the healing, the clearing out, the making space for new energy and life to flow.

A couple months ago I felt undeserving and unworthy of pretty much all the things in my life. The happiness, the love, the people, the opportunities, the support.. even the challenges! a fun time, as you might imagine and at first I dismissed them thinking they were just a reaction to something going on. but they seeped further and deeper into the darkness, finding little cracks and making me aware of a few truths I had blinded myself to.

Those feelings and thoughts sprung up, started to flow and pull me down with them because

I’d made decisions that pulled me out of alignment with what was most important to me.

This is the māramatanga (enlightenment) that came after I let that process wash over me (crash down on me is more accurate for how it felt lol). they may have introduced me to parts of myself I’d never known or acknowledged before — and in doing so, brought me back to life with a deeper connection to myself.

I’m not sure how this post came to include so many quotes lol but be rude not to add another one in there and this is from my uncle Bruce so be kind and

“be like water”

Go through the different phases, that serve specific, particular functions for different phases. It’s part of our whakapapa, it’s inherent in us to transition in and out of phases all the time — we’re whakapapa in action.

Tēnā tātou,

Hana.