feel the power
fighting the sunday scaries by being in awe!!!
Down bad with the sunday scaries? Me too – welcome! I’m so glad you’re here with me.
Kia ora e te whānau, this week has had a lot of strong emotions for me. I have been angry and silly and sad and thankful and frustrated and joyful and panicked and content and exhausted. Lots of these emotions and experiences will lead to new content later!!! Yay!!!
When we talk about needing to sit with our feelings and not push them away, we are talking about all feelings. We are quick to avoid negativity and quick to dismiss joy. I am trying so hard to acknowledge the joy in my life when it arrives.
I started a new notebook to write down the small, good things I notice every day. These are not things I am grateful for. Or things that I survived or am proud of. It is just for things that brought me joy and made me feel good. You can read my list of small, good things from October here.
This week, among all my other feelings, I have often felt inspired, motivated and in awe. The Treaty Principles Bill was introduced in parliament and was met with great protest. Hīkoi mō te Tiriti has captivated me all week and today they arrived in Porirua, the city I live in. There are flags and music and children everywhere. It is a privilege to be reminder of the power of community in this way. To be shown again that the best antidote to hopelessness and despair is action.
Some of my favourite things from the week
The Stop the Treaty Principles Bill - TOITŪ TE TIRITI!! petition to sign
The Te Pāti Māori protest led by Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke in Parliament:
Green Party leader Chlöe Swarbrick’s speech in Parliament:
This video edit of Mariameno Kapa-Kīngi’s reaction to the haka:
These images from the hīkoi crossing the Auckland Harbour Bridge:
As tangata tiriti, I am hoping to be at Parliament for the activation on Tuesday, but there are lots of ways to tautoko this kaupapa if you can’t be there! Check out this post for ideas.
A poetry offering:
This week, let your brain and body feel whatever it does when it is left alone. Sit somewhere quiet. Turn off the TV, the podcasts, the music. Let yourself be in your natural state. Where does your mind go? What happens in your chest? Your face? Your shoulders? Your tummy? Where do your feelings live? You do not have to have solutions. You do not need to fix anything. You do not need to change whatever comes up. You just need to be. It will be uncomfortable, which probably means it is necessary. Let the animal of your body be an animal. Come home to yourself.
Remember there are so many of us on this journey too. You are not alone in your grief, in your anger, in your confusion, in your despair. And you are not alone in your resistence, in your work, in your fight and in your joy. We are here together. Take my hand.