|
|
There are times when you sit back and contemplate, slurp on that half cold cup of coffee and look at the ceiling. Today is one of them.
For me, Waitangi Day is not a day for harsh words crafted from pent up anger, but one of reflection, tinged with a little sadness.
I say a little, because time does heal wounds, the key, is to allow it to do its thing.
I could be angry, I have a right to be, and was for some years. But anger tends to do strange things to your head, changes your life in ways that you may not normally choose it is to be avoided.
Optimism however, is a headspace of a different breed. This one opens doors, not close them. When I look at my Grandchildren it is all I see, every door is open. Their freedom to choose their own path abounds.
When I reflect on my state of mind, it is shaped by the memories of a very close family member who took one chance to many, eleven years ago, today. All doors closed.
The world didn’t stop and I wondered why, the pain and grief started with shock and a million questions, but I quickly succumbed to the darkness as grief and anger took hold.
The total frustration, as there was absolutely no chance to change anything for the better.
The need to stay stanch, as much for my own sanity as the need to perform my obligations and duties, kept my anger in check.
Today, eleven years on, time has done its business and I am attending a late birthday party for another close family member, and my children and grandchildren will be there.
It will be a day of celebration, laughter, joy and above all optimism.
So it should be, for it is our National holiday and these feelings are the only ones that should be allowed on our Nations birthday.
My family, like my country, has the blood of many different races and nationalities flowing through its collective veins and we all should celebrate this coming together today.
There have always been and always will be many injustices in the world, in many different forms.
The total frustration of not being able to change anything, for the better, can overwhelm you if you allow it too. Time can heal the wounds of the past but only if we all stop picking the “scabs” and allow the healing to take place.
Waitangi Day is New Zealand’s birthday and whether or not everyone played fair at the conception should be left to the other 364 days of the year to sort out. Sorting this problem will not be simple or quick and should be done without greed or personal agenda. This was the problem in the first place.
My Grandson was born here in New Zealand because his parents wanted him to be born a Kiwi, they flew home from halfway round the world to make that happen. It is still the best place on the planet to call home.
Now, stop bickering over the details, sort out what can be sorted out, and allow time to heal the wounds.
We’ve got a birthday to celebrate.
But that’s just “an old trucker’s point of view”
|
|
|
|
|
