In this waka, together

I love the words of the late Maya Angelou who said, "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."

These for me are important words to live by.

The time leading up to where we are now is greatly different than any of our minds could have possibly fathomed. These are unimaginable times. We prepared as best we could, and have navigated the storms as best we know how.

Scrambling analytically, clutching at our ropes as our waka dipped and dived in this storm like we have not experienced globally for years, and in new times, we have made choices based on blindly knowing how they would result in the flesh. We have applied our knowledge from the giants who weathered different storms than us before, not knowing for certain how these strategies would integrate and implement in an entirely new and different system.

We have responded and reacted in the midst of this storm. We have weathered extremities. We will soon be in calmer weather and can see what we could have done better.

As we continue to sail and pass through new types of weather, we might pass some currents that are equivalent to small silver linings. There are great lessons to be had upon reflection and now for our journey forward.

When we know better, we do better. We still have time to reflect as we continue to move forward. We still have time to make changes to where we steer our waka as we continue on. It might not be the way that others might envision as the right or best way, but we must remember we are here though. We are the ones who have survived; therefore, we must make excellent use of our time.

It seems like now that we are hopefully passing through the eye of this storm that many of us may have regained our vision. Through this experience, strong feelings like many of us have probably never experienced before, these are still resonating, waiting to be heard, waiting to be narrated, to have their stories validated, acknowledged, sewn into a new whariki of discourse. It seems like these feelings may want to be told because the healing need is and will be greater than usual. I wonder if they may need to impact?

As a counselor, I believe our body is wiser and know things often way before our mind may consider, may fathom. Minds tend to process thinking in the shadow of our bodies intuition because we extend into deep wisdom held by the generations who walked our earth before us, and we wonder why intuition captivated in our feelings is so wise.

I believe personally we are spirits in human bodies, but our flesh can operate like a receptor to our spirit. Is there any way to salvage our stories, and experiences now? Is it too late to turn our tables back over and straighten the cabin below, and find ways together to bring to fruition a new vision? We have done the best we have known how to and it's never too late to apply what we've learned. It's not too late to correct our course of action, to change our navigation.

What questions will we ask as we prepare a new vision? I personally like the concept of capitalism collapsing, and know that as a species we find new ways to pull together our collective sinews when our communities tear its collective flesh.

We are folded within a system contrary to what western myths and mentalities may hope to believe. None of us are on an island, of our own. We are interdependent. Our system may collapse but the recovery may be more graceful, built on the thick-skinned backs of resilience. And resilience will provide us shelter for posttraumatic growth so we gain wisdom while we experience challenges. Therefore, how will our system sew itself back up and restore, recover?

Perhaps there will be an ample opportunity to deconstruct. I believe there is an opportunity to guide our waka now from where we are. We don’t have certainty but I can see we still have hope, faith, love for our current and future generations. I believe this silver lining could provide just a little space required to recharge and replace habits and ideologies that don't work, with better ones. I think we are in an opportune time to connect with the earth, ground ourselves, and regroup to seize this space, of this potential calm, before further storm. Perhaps I myself am guilty of only thinking of how I might regroup and reground myself. I have lost sight of my collective and interdependent principles I hold dearly, and which I believe when based on te ao Maori in Aotearoa, and indigenous practices worldwide, will heal our people.

So now that we know better, how will we do better? How will I do better? What will I do.right.now.

Please note, artwork for this post is by https://www.walkerillo.com/ Amazing paintings, so beautifully detailed and such spirited work!