Let connection be our antidote
Our tamariki, our older people, our communities, our schools, our whānau, our whenua, our taiao. These are the things we value. In a world that feels quite hard right now, there is an invitation to soften ourselves and gently hold all that we truly value at the fore.
This year’s Budget Day was a bit of a mixed bag. Iwi, hapū and community food providers are grateful to have some funding continue, especially as we watch so many other seemingly essential services reduced or removed. But the funding that we have been offered is small, a drop in the bucket of our response to poverty and our journey towards a food secure Aotearoa. Yet, even a small pebble can make a ripple that continues to shift a large body of water.
The network of iwi, hapū & community food providers across Aotearoa shall continue to use their voice to insist that government meaningfully join us funding food relief in our communities. Not only that, we call on them to collaborate with the iwi, hapū & community food sector in creating a longer-term, data-driven plan about how to meet the ongoing need for food assistance, as well as address the underlying causes of food poverty. This network of foodbanks asks for connection and relationship with this government so that, even if they keep doing the opposite of what we suggest and what the data and evidence says, we will still be in relationship with them.
Cultivating deep relationships built to withstand disagreement and difference is the key to unlocking systemic change. By choosing to stay, choosing to listen, choosing to hold space in relationships with those we do not always agree with, we demonstrate that we place more value on human connection than upon being, doing or thinking the same. We can choose to celebrate difference in thought and action as being part of a diverse society. Let connection be the antidote, thriving in opposition to the austerity, fear, and individualism pressed upon us by a time of compounding economic crises. Investing in relationships crafted with caring, sharing, and understanding at their heart can soften our pointy edges. Born of deep connection is a powerful generosity of spirit that can lift us beyond fighting for resources.
I went to the funeral of an amazing woman a few weeks back. She served her community, her church, her business network and this country incredibly. I had the privilege to be mentored by her when I was in my early twenties. We definitely did not agree on many things, but she believed in my potential, even if I had different views than her. I am so grateful for what she invested in me, for her arguing with me, bossing me about, but mostly her deep compassion and care of me as a human. She did not view me as a threat, even when I moved beyond her within our organisation. I knew she held more knowledge about her area of expertise than I ever would and that was a support to me. Our mutual respect, relationship and commitment to each other over time made all the difference.
Some have labelled this Budget as the one that ‘robs Peter in order to pay Paul’, or ‘robs Paula to pay Peter!’ It makes me wonder if Peter and Paul know each other, really know each other - enough to care that one is struggling because of the gain of another. What might it take for each of us to build a relationship with someone whose worldview is vastly different from our own? Maybe that’s with someone who is already connected to our world. Maybe it’s your neighbour, a colleague, a local retailer, client or even your MP. What might happen if we saw the benefit of this relationship as being about meaningful connection built over time, rather than a transactional means to an end? How might our connections become our superpowers and how might loving relationships built upon kindness and solidarity be the counter to this enduring economic recession?
We stand on the shoulders of our tipuna and create pathways for our mokopuna. The connections we make across, and because of, our differences lay the foundations for a thriving diverse community. May connection be our antidote!
Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i toiroa
Let us keep close together, not far apart
Written by Tric Malcolm, Pou Ārahi.