Kei hea tātou reo, Aotearoa? Where is our language, Aotearoa? This is a question that has been buzzing around in my head over the last few months. In January, I attended a summer camp in Ōtaki. It was an opportunity for youth aged 17-30 to come together and discuss politics, environmental issues, play music, dance,… Continue reading Why Te Reo Māori is Relevant Now
Yeah, so, New Zealand is not doing a fantastic job. We're miles ahead of Australia, for example - make no mistake - but our micro-aggressions towards ngā tāngata whenua are all too real, sometimes subtle and sometimes more like actual aggression. I will never ever know what it feels like to live in the skin… Continue reading Colonialism in Aotearoa and te Ao
I have been enthralled and in awe of a somewhat recent single by Kimbra, titled Everybody Knows, released September 2017. To my knowledge, she wrote it in response to the Harvey Weinstein cases of sexual abuse. Devastating. Her words and her musicianship have shone a light on such a dark and hideous part of our… Continue reading Kimbra to Weinstein – Everybody Knows
Unlike most Christians (and ex-Christians), I grew up in a secular household. I now thank Ranginui, Māori god of the sky, that this was the case. In my opinion, what drew me to the Christian faith in the first place (for eight years) was my innate need for spiritual exploration, influence via Christian extended family members,… Continue reading Addressing My Internalised Homophobia
Art humanises and grounds absolutely any political issue or conflict ever. People are moved by music, tears, poetry, photographs, paintings, novels and by sculpture. People are not emotionally affected by spreadsheets, statistics or mathematical equations (okay except maybe this guy*). When you marry the hard facts with the stuff that effects a person's kare-ā-roto, their… Continue reading Why We Need Art
Suicide. Many people that I know, myself included, have contemplated it at difficult periods of our lives. My grandfather died by it – so I never got to meet him – and so did a fellow high school chorister. Those deaths will never ever escape my mind; both for different reasons. People need to come… Continue reading Suicide and the Value of Te Whare Tapa Whā
There are three things I choose to believe: At their core, people are good.*Everybody has shit to deal with.Hurt people hurt people. Most of the time we hide our mess and our problems and the things which we'd rather not have people see...things we're ashamed of, things that are too tender, things that make us… Continue reading Deep and Meaningfuls in the Kitchen
I'm not sure how I feel about awareness weeks. It's Mental Health Awareness Week this October, and on one hand I think that's fantastic - because maintaining mental health is so fundamental to our overall wellbeing, because it is still a poorly understood issue, because it is grossly underfunded and sidelined, because New Zealand has… Continue reading What Are We Aware Of?
I don't know where I want to go with this post, but that's ultimately how most of my blog updates go, so we're doing good. I went on a Philosophy field trip last weekend and it was an absolute whale of a time. I met heaps of wonderfully weird humans akin to myself, had phantastic… Continue reading Philosophy, Sexuality, and Christian Me
I'm sitting on a vaguely uncomfortable vent waiting for my delayed flight at the airport. Hot air is blasting my butt right now and I'm beginning to regret the decision to wear tights. Surprise, surprise, I'm also thinking about things. I've had song lyrics and poems coming out of my ears these past few days.… Continue reading P-P-Politics and Ponderings
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