Opinion: Hear the korero of Papatuanuku

Flooding in Edgecumbe forced evacuation of residents. Photo/File

I am writing this in my Wellington hotel room after presenting to a corporate group earlier this evening. To be more precise I am writing this on the seventh floor of my hotel and for one of the few times in my hundreds of nights of staying in hotel rooms around the world, the lofty heights of this particular hotel are bothering me.

The cause of my anxiety is an earthquake we had here earlier this evening which GeoNet describes as being a strong 4.5 at a depth of 13km somewhere near here. It's funny how an evening that was going to be relaxing can change a bit because of shaky ground and a building moving in ways one is not used to. While it may not be as serious as other earthquakes felt around the country in more recent years, Papatuanuku did get my attention and focus enough to immediately phone my wife a bit earlier than usual.

However my moment with Papatuanuku is nothing compared to the recent floods experienced in the Bay of Plenty. Papatuanuku has been giving us various korero lately as there seems to be a lot more unusual activity occurring with 100-year events sometimes occurring bi-monthly.

My thoughts, prayers and best wishes certainly go out to the recently flooded residents of Edgecumbe and other damaged areas around the Bay of Plenty. It is times like this when our values based on the importance of the whenua and people come to the fore. We certainly realise that Mother Earth is here for a long time compared to the shortness of our life spans of being hosted by her. Whatungaro he tangata toitu he whenua.

While it is disappointing to hear about the ill effects of the recent natural disasters such as the flooding it has also been inspirational to hear about the positive outcomes of communities coming together to look after one another. Rourou are certainly being filled and shared throughout the Bay of Plenty at this time and in our depths of pain and darkness many communities are demonstrating healing and light.

I have no doubt that there are many important lessons for us to learn amongst these natural disasters and time will tell if we have learnt them or not. One thing is certain, Papatuanuku was here long before us and will be here long after us and the relationship our future generations have with her will be highly dependent on our actions towards her today. Our failure to adapt to her changes and hear her korero will be at our loss, more than hers.

Ngahihi o te ra is from Te Arawa and is an international leadership Speaker, author and consultant. His website can be viewed at www.ngahibidois.com.