Warning! Spoiler alert. Modern day Christmas is the celebration by many of the birth of a special child and celebrated with the death of a tree. The highways are clogged by the exodus of people, family and friends leaving the concrete jungle of the cities and heading for the bush, beach and rivers. Some camp out where the waters run free while back home all water is tightly controlled. Enjoying the simplicity of camping in keyless tents for a few days or weeks while our houses full of prized stuff are locked. And yet the keyless tent brings so much relief and relaxation that we deprive ourselves in our everyday lives as we fiercely hang onto our debt burdened lifestyle. Now, I’m not suggesting that we all rush out and start erecting tent cities …. although the idealist in me is not averse to the idea. However, we can bring the two worlds together so that our wellbeing can be nurtured everyday by a healthy connection to the whenua/land. Right now, many are fueled by emotional adrenaline, sugar highs and the numbing effects of alcohol. There will be a temporary lull as many settle into holiday mode. Soon the crash will come. By January reality will come flooding in when assessment of the financial aftermath can no longer be avoided. By February most of the gifts will be in the landfill. Have you ever thought about the languaging we use when referring to the whenua/land, etc. Legal documents mention natural hazards but never people hazard. Flood protection instead of river protection (kaitiakitanga of the awa). We have become so risk adverse that the amount of paperwork required of organistions wanting to take peopl into the outdoors is often at the cost of going at all. Yet the risks of walking down a busy street in the city are far greater. Not to mention the sensory overload. I just realized that in my children’s lifetime the world was supposed to have ended twice around the Christmas season. The first time it was predicted they were very young children and I decided that we would all sleep together and if it ended then we would die together. Years later in 2012 they were teenagers and when I suggested sleeping in the same room, they all just gave me a look that said ‘you are dying alone tonight Mum’ 😊. Now that I have raised your anxiety levels. May I recommend you take your shoes off to ground/earth yourself or as I like to call it. Having a kōrero with Papatῡᾱnuku through the soles of my feet. Take a deep breath and ask yourself, what can I do? Consider creating a natural sensory box to replace the popular sensory box that is filled with cheap plastic and rubber items with a short life span that is hard to repurpose. When no longer required, everything can be returned to the whenua/land. Include items such as feathers, stones, prickly seed balls and sand.
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