A Glass Full of Water

Walking down from our road for an early morning swim, we saw a neighbour walking towards us with a large plank of wood on his shoulder (As you do). “What are you up to?” I asked with a smile. “Nothing much. The council haven’t fixed the seat by the town hall for ages, so I thought I’d fix it, paint it and put it back all ‘tickety boo’”. Another time he repaired a bus shelter. My job was to keep perfectly still holding a clamp for him. It felt a bit naughty but it was the right thing to do. Kids waiting for the bus on a rainy day no longer get wet. Without help he has removed graffiti and made road repairs. We love the way he sees a need in the community and does something about it. He continues to mow the lawns for a neighbour who has had a recent knee operation. She commented, “How lovely of him. Such a darling.” His knees aren’t the best either, but that doesn’t stop him.  A few months ago he installed a gate across a driveway in another neighbour’s property, so their toddler cou...

Every bit of dumped road sweepings (3.2 tonnes) car tyres and rock hard tree stumps were now gone. All dug out by hand and trundled up the ramp in countless wheelbarrow loads. A kind but dangerous offer from a neighbour to blow up the last stump was declined… This ‘blank garden canvas’ was now ready for soil to be offloaded by the truck load.  Soon afterwards the planting of vegetables and flower plants began followed by daily watering. Seaweed was applied after being chopped up with our lawnmower.  I’m a good weeder and carrier of garden mix and an average planter. (My enthusiastic digging got me in a spot of bother a few weeks ago, when I dug through an internet cable. No more embarrassing details will be divulged).  Val has a great knowledge of gardening and a real aptitude for getting things done. She currently grows tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beetroot, rhubarb, beans, peas, capsicum, chillies (way too hot for me), spinach, lettuce, cucumber, basil, par...

Last Thursday an unremarkable scene began at a busy pedestrian and traffic intersection in Mt Eden, Auckland. Everybody was minding their own business. Eyes watched the seconds counting down on the traffic light display panels. Boring. Time for a yawn. In a few seconds time it would be the pedestrians turn to flood the intersection with quick steps… 3, 2, 1, buzzer time. Cue the slightly comical green stylised ‘walker’ on the display panel. Pedestrians stepped confidently onto the road. In the next 15 seconds they had one purpose.  Except one person. Same purpose, but not the same physical capabilities. He began his very slow walk to the safety of the other side. It must have felt a long way away and it was extra hard for him as he was struggling to carry his bags. Time waits for no one. People watched. Some must have felt a little anxious for him. 5, 4, 3, … alone. Finally. Someone did something. A stranger joined him in the middle of the intersection. No man’s land. They slowly, ...

My first experience of manaakitanga was during my year as a trainee forest ranger. I was asked by a Māori workmate to take family photos at their home. I arrived late morning, took the photos and was about to leave when Ivan asked me to stay for lunch. What a lunch it was! Plate after plate was placed on the table. Their generosity of spirit and amazing hospitality left a lasting impression on me.  In Māori culture, manaakitanga is most often associated with being welcomed on to a marae and a meal shared with tangata whenua (people of the land) and manuhiri (guests) but as you read on you will see that it is much more than that.  It’s about looking for opportunities to help a friend or loved one. Being generous with our giving and taking time to build relationships with people. Respecting and being loyal to each other when the going gets tough. Being humble and serving others. Encouraging people and looking for the good in them. Showing compassion and love in the best and wors...

My niece Emma, her husband Tau and her son Jack live in a block of 4 townhouses in Auckland. They all love living in a ‘cultural mosaic’. Emma describes her neighbours as ‘so friendly’. Someone is always home so she feels super safe no matter the time of day. Emma has been given baking, curry leftovers, traditional Eid desserts and once a whole frozen chicken. Conversations are always respectful, friendly and reciprocal. One night they had friends over for a rowdy karaoke. They warned the neighbours ahead of time - one replied that she’d let them know the winner in the morning!  The front house has four generations of an Indian family living in it. They have invited Emma and her family over for significant birthdays. The second house is a Palestinian family. Members of this family work for a refugee organisation. The third family is Muslim and they have children in their early 20’s. They are very social and Emma is reassured by their friendly chatter as they walk up and down the sh...

“Hi John!” Val said with a smile as she walked into her mechanics office to get a warrant for the car.  “Hi Val” John replied. The usual hug followed with a wave through the window to Karl as he worked on one of the many cars in the workshop. John works for his son Karl in his mechanics workshop in Hamilton. Lovely Val has been giving bundles of old towels to John since the early 1990’s to use as rags. Sometimes John and his son also get some homemade shortbread made by Val which doesn’t last very long at all! To Val’s delight, at this particular appointment, John handed over a generous amount of free range eggs. “You have always been kind to us with the towels.”  John also gave some eggs to some retirement village residents. He got chatting to them and now egg deliveries are a regular occurrence. He doesn’t want payment, he just loves seeing people receiving his gift. A few weeks ago he gave away eggs to a woman who had parked next to him in a supermarket car park. She offere...

My nephew Ben, his wife Lauren and their three children, Josh, Ruby and Sam have recently returned to the small town of Fairlie in the beautiful Mackenzie District of the South Island. If anyone has had a famous Fairlie pie (Bacon and Salmon, Vegan, Venison and Cranberry to name a few) then you will have tasted a real humdinger.  Ben (on promotion) and his family moved four years ago to a high school in Taranaki. The consuming nature of climbing the promotional ladder and realising that time with family and lifestyle was more important than anything else, they (both Ben and Lauren) applied for and won teaching positions at Mackenzie College.  The community has made their return easy. “Great to have you back” is a common refrain. Ben said, “You can’t go to the supermarket in ten minutes. Everywhere you turn, another conversation will start up.” (My kind of town!).  Staff at school have also been very encouraging and complimentary to them on Ben’s return as Deputy Principal...