A Sacred Life

Over and over, this summer, we have gone to the land- Papatuanuku- the earth mother and over and over again she has welcomed, blessed and healed us. Her gifts are so many and generous- every day we learn new things about these offerings.

Just last Monday we headed back in to our beloved Esk valley to visit with the hawthorns we had seen. On the journey we discovered a whole forest of them- all lining a steep bank.   

 We both experience a peculiar sensation of home-coming when amongst the hawthorns.

This darling little fantail visited with us while we picked a basket of ripe berries- beautiful heart nourishing medicine.

 We had been entrusted with the knowledge of a sacred & secret river spot that we discovered to be truly magical & a perfect place for tea.

 The yarrow, apple and spear mints were still in bloom. The butterflies and bees didn't seem to mind where the flowers were- even in a jar on our little table.

 Such a glorious hot day for early autumn and of course we had to bring this adorable tepee to put up in the meadow.

 The Esk river in summer is clear, clean and ever so serene.

 In the arms of Papatuanuku there is rest.

 In the heat of the afternoon sun we swam in the cool waters.

 We have gone out again and again to gather and to walk and to play. We have witnessed full moon rising

 and breathtaking rainbows across the sea.

 It is also through this time that we have come to understand, best expressed in the words of Ljeoma Umebinyuo, the Nigerian poet in her book Questions for Ada-

"Bless the daughters who sat carrying the traumas of mothers. Who sat asking for more love and not getting any, carried themselves to light. Bless the daughters who raised themselves".

And so it is that we have come to realise that we have sat our whole lives carrying the traumas of mothers and barely living our own sacred lives. No longer will we tolerate the desecration of our precious lives by those whose hearts are filled with poison and whose mouths are filled with lies, whose unhealed wounds fester through to life's end. I cannot describe to you in words the full extent of the darkness and the evil that has been woven through our lives by those who should have loved us, but a day of reckoning for the their acts of desecration will surely come. I wish it weren't so, but it is true.
And so, we have set about creating our own Mainland Island Reserve, like this one we visited a while back at Boundary Stream near Tutira.

We discovered when we arrived that a Mainland Island Reserve is a sanctuary with a special predator proof fence that protects the native species within and therefore provides a safe haven for them to thrive. 

Like this darling little North Island robin.

And this precious man called Rob.

It was about this time that I came across another beautiful Maori concept- that of Whanaungatanga which means: well, familiness, really.
1. (Noun) Relationship, kinship, a sense of family connection, a relationship through shared experiences which provides people with a sense of belonging. It develops as a result of kinship rights and obligations which also serve to strengthen each member of the kin group. It also extends to others that one develops a close familial friendship or reciprocal relationship."
And that's when we realised that we were "the ones asking for more love and not getting any so carried ourselves to light." And it was as we came to Papatuanuku that we experienced a deep sense of Whanaungatanga- familiness, belonging.
Suddenly we knew how precious we really were and that our lives are truly sacred and have been all along.
So when we came across this beautiful video that embodies Whanaungatanga so perfectly, we both cried and cried knowing too, that our marriage was meant for such sacred blessing.
And so it is.


Luana and Kane - Whanaungatanga from Side Project on Vimeo.