Mauri: Eternal
I speak often about mauri, and its the only word I have, for now, that can convey the concepts in my (higher) mind.
When I refer to mauri, I am talking about energy, presence, force, space (one's) and so on.
As we head into the season of rest, reunion and celebration, and as I accept, or otherwise, the various lovely invitations to participate in these, I think briefly about the fact I...well.. don't drink
It's no issue. There is no judgement to those who do. For real. But it got me thinking for a minute as to how I frequently offer the "ack, I can't even pull up" line because it's... easily digestible. Joking it off means a short conversation about, nothing, really.
I'm good with that. But then, underneath the relatively easy reason, is me and my ever-deepening desire to...really touch the spaces of the recesses of my hinengaro. To refine the feeling in me that does not yet have full shape and form and therefore are without words to express it yet.
But I know this is -the- process. Māramatanga, layer, by layer. This takes time, flow, consideration, observation.
So, I spent some time on that, and found there are 3 points that weave it all together:
1. When the Wānanga kaiako talked about the phrase "Tihei mauri mate" and stated, according to his belief, that "because death is final, it is incorrect to use the word mauri in this way."
This didn't fit with what was now growing in momentum inside of me. So I peeled back the concept.
I found a few things....
Linear (limited) thinking (decolonize our minds), and finality of death (have we forgotten we are limitlessness?) and so on.
2. Mauri: what does the word mean? This was asked recently. And instead of thinking, it was answered simply: ma / uri... source / derive
3. And finally... my non-consumption of alcohol. Likely, forever. I mean, I never put a time goal on it 2 years ago on December 27 when I shared my last Steiny with my hoa, I just thought, yeah, that's a good idea. Done.
And tonight, reflecting on how prevalent the theme of mauri has been in every aspect and conversation I have explored or had in these last few weeks especially, I have a few thoughts to share. Stick around if you please, or scroll on. It's totally okay.
Before I get into it though, I want to say why I think mauri has been prevalent recently.
It is the overlooked aspect of our world. It wasn't always this way. And while the world is awakening, in parts, we are still recovering from generations and generations of disconnection. Deep, spiritual disconnection.
Mauri is still not the dominant aspect in...
- Our small micro worlds we share when we are chilling with our mates.
- The every day meanderings we take as we roam the streets or footpaths
- The work we may do day after day
- The hui or wānanga we find ourselves in
- The projects we touch or the spaces we fill
Mauri is an aspect, because everything (in a form of living) is of, and has, mauri, but it is not at the forefront of the (higher) mind -in a way that it is momentarily also being perceived or observed from a state of awareness.-
And on a very, very personal level, in my little Maria life, I perceive that my mahi is......mauri.
O te tangata, o te whakaaro, o te whenua, o te ao...
Return it to the -higher- minds, and the in-between and all-encompassing spaces of all things, places, and aspects of life itself.
Return it to its foundational state.
If you're still with me now....? Mauri ora
Weaving together the whakaaro swirling around in my mind, in my tinana, giving form now to the expression... I offer that mauri isn’t bound by time. It doesn’t start or end; it simply is. It exists as life force, a source that sustains and generates itself, flowing, always.
Mauri carries its own mauri—infinite. It resists limitation or control. And we perhaps may forget, from time to time, that we do not control-it-
To think of it as linear, tied to life or death, misses its essence entirely. Mauri moves beyond those constructs, operating in its own expansive way.
Expansive, never retracting.
And te whakapapa o te kupu, which is what I often refer people to when they are enquiring about the meaning of a māori word.
When breaking it down you may find—mā as source, light, clarity, and uri as derived from—it. To me, it is clear that mauri is both the connection to and the continuation of source. It holds its origin within itself while flowing outward, unbroken and boundless.
So, for me, as I unravel the many, many layers of.my.own thinking and be-ing, I embrace that mauri shapes how I choose to move through the world. It’s why I step away, at times, from spaces or actions that feel disconnected from this flow.
It’s not about judgement; it’s about staying aligned with what feels steady and clear, allowing mauri to remain intact and unclouded. In that state, everything flows as it should—limitless, expansive, connected.
M x
