E huri tō aroaro ki te rā, tukuna tō ataarangi ki muri i a koe.
Turn and face the sun, and let your shadow fall behind you.

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“Waking early I get out of bed knowing that the day will be busy. I’m on autopilot as I begin my morning routine. Sitting in my quiet place, I realise that I am tired and more than a little bewildered by the things of life. I have many things on my mind, yet not one certain thing that rises to the forefront. I’m in a state of semi-consciousness.

I hear the birdsong and am reminded of the beauty of this early morning. I give thanks for this home I live in. I give thanks for its location on the park. I am thankful for the trees and the birds. I give thanks because, when I am still enough to notice where I am and what is happening around about me, giving thanks is what makes sense. Giving thanks connects me to the world. It reminds me that no matter how I am feeling there is always something to give thanks for. Including being thankful for the anxiety that reminds me of the need to be aware of how I might respond to the people I will meet today.

Giving thanks puts me into a different mindset. Giving thanks creates the mindset I need for the day ahead. I am thankful for the re-setting of my mind that provides some direction. I can get going now knowing that I am beginning from a good place. In all things we ought to give thanks.”

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“After a day’s walk, everything has twice its usual value.”

– G. M. Trevelyan

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Whāiate iti Kahurangi ki te tuohu koe me he maunga teitei

Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain

Purapura Whetu Trust

We partner with Purapura Whetu Trust on a regular basis. They are a Māori health and social services provider based in Canterbury. Together, we run our Te Māhuri adventure therapy programme for rangatahi youth in Canterbury.

Here is what Purapura Whetu wrote in the social media post that accompanied the above whakataukī:

“Make sure you’re following along as we start posting whakataukī! Let’s learn together!

What are whakataukī?

“Whakataukī are Māori proverbs. They have an important place in Te Ao Māori.

Whakataukī are commonly used as inspirations in speeches and also as gentle reminders spoken to each other in everyday life. They are poetic expressions of wise sayings which allude to symbols native to Aotearoa!

“What are your favourite whakataukī? Let us know below and we could feature these next!”

Find Purapura Whetu on social!

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purapurawhetutrust/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Purapura-Whetu-342769425901224

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“There are three ways of trying to influence the young: There is persuasion, there is compulsion, and there is attraction. You can preach at them: that is a hook without a worm. You can say ‘you must volunteer’: that is of the devil. And you can tell them, ‘You are needed.’ That one hardly ever fails.”

– Kurt Hahn of Outward Bound fame and arguably the father of modern outdoor education

Lynsday Simpkin, the founder of Adventure Specialties Trust, quoted the above quote in one of his letters. He continued:

“It is tempting, as Christians serving through outdoor adventure, to try and emphasise a person’s value by saying ‘Don’t you know that you are made in the image of God?’ but what if that person has no belief in God?

We can enforce moral boundaries and standards of behaviour for the duration of our programme, but transference back into real life is never guaranteed.

Maybe, though, with careful and prayerful planning, we can create an experience where being needed becomes self-evident and where the beauty of nature creates enough cracks for something of the truth and source of a person’s worth to seep on through.”

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The post Outdoors we are confronted everywhere with wonders – Wendell Berry appeared first on Adventure Specialties Trust.

ROALD DAHL

Roald Dahl (1916-1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter pilot of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. He has been referred to as “one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century”.

Dahl’s short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children’s books for their unsentimental, macabre, often darkly comic mood, featuring villainous adult enemies of the child characters. His children’s books champion the kind-hearted and feature an underlying warm sentiment.

His works for children include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Twits, The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, and George’s Marvellous Medicine.

– Sourced from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Dahl)

QUOTE

“I began to realise how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it, and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.”

– Roald Dahl

From his novel ‘My Uncle Oswald’

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“Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

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