Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was.
Mānawatia a Matariki!
Congratulations, you made it. Welcome to the Māori new year.
I like the idea of starting fresh on the darkest day of the year. It makes sense that after weeks of feeling the heavy weight of dark and cold, there would be a clear marker for rounding the corner. It’s like a reward for persevering and, in my opinion, should include at least one more statutory holiday (take it from January 2).
Having our big holiday and new year celebrations in the summer is like being made to run a marathon without water, only to then be hit with a hose at the finish line. Way too late, excessive and not needed: the finish line (summer, daylight) is enough of a reward at that point.
This week has been a freezing, dark week where there’s nothing to do but sit in front of the heat pump (if you’re lucky enough to have one) and contemplate every life decision you ever made. In other words, it’s the perfect time for reflection and planning, and a couple of days off.
The fact that people spend the Gregorian new year hungover, full of sun and often fresh from a two-week holiday, and then try to reflect on their life and decide what they want to do for the next 12 months is frankly unhinged. No wonder everyone sets ridiculous resolutions and then crashes out in winter when they realise “morning runs” are hell on earth when there’s ice on the ground and you can’t see shit.
Meanwhile, right there at the perfect moment is Matariki. There to say hey, we’ve been in the slog era but we’re on the way out. Let’s reflect on the past 12 months and plan for the next 12. Let’s take time to connect with the whenua and reaffirm our place in it, remember those we’ve lost and plan for those still to arrive. That’s the perfect time to be making realistic resolutions. Less “run 23 marathons” and more “spend more time with family”, less “lose 75kg” and more “learn about my own history”. Because you know a desire is real when you want to do it even on the coldest, darkest days of the year.
The stories Spinoff readers spent the most time with this week
- This week’s Cover Story by Alice Neville about the secretive Tory donor with the golden visa and the ear of the Beehive
- Dan Keane argues that the new lights at DOC huts are like togs in a sauna
- Anna Sophia, a counsellor, reviews ChatGPT’s counselling advice
- Danny Rood shares his personal experiences of living with ME/CFS and what helped improve his quality of life.
- In this week’s cost of being, a supermarket assistant on a working holiday visa talks us through their financials
Feedback of the week
“Good on you for knitting socks; hand-knit socks are the best. I hope you enjoy your time here in Aotearoa and, if you choose to, get to stay permanently.”
“yikes. that’s what Broadmore left me with here. big ole dirty YIKES.”
