Tou Mauri

What is it that goes to make up who you actually are?

If you want to get to know yourself, and the community/world around you that you live in and interact with, you cannot bite this off to chew as one piece. You have to take one piece at a time.

It is our view our Mana (life essence) is made up from a combination of our Mauri (life spark), Whakapapa (genealogy), Hononga (connection), and Te Ao (big picture view).

From there what we do with it is influenced by the Whanaungatanga (relationships), Manaakitanga (kindness), Whai Wāhitanga (participation) and Mātauranga (wisdom) going on around us in our lives.

Who you are as a ‘new baby born’ is made up of your Ngā taonga tuku iho (treasures passed down – natural gifts you were born with as a person) and your Whakapapa (you can’t choose who your parents are). It is from this starting place (that you had no choice on) that you start to ‘live life’, find your natural and true identity, and then start to make decisions that in turn shape the pathway you end up walking on through life.

Getting to know ‘who you are’, and ‘accepting’ (no judgment, just the conscious realization of these things) the things that go to make up who you are, are a major step in realising I am Me – I am Worthwhile.