Facing up

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 10, 30 July 1985, Page 8

Facing up

'Renovation', 'evolution', 'revival', 'modernization', 'innovation', 'adaptation', 'face-lift', 'revitalization', 'new-life' — out language is rich in words that refer to renewal in one form or another. Such richness reflects our awareness of the need to face up to renewal.

The world is continually changing and any grouping of people has to renew itself so that it does not get left behind. The ponga, so common in the Waimarino, is an inspiration for such renewal. The ponga has its roots in the rich humus of the forest floor. We humans are rooted in the history and experience of mankind that has been built up over the centuries. The trunk of the ponga is made up of the stubs of the previous generations of fronds. Each generation of people, with its particular way of doing things, passes away, leaving a stable base for further growth. From the top of this trunk spring the new fronds. The dramatic shape of their unfurling is a vital symbol of energy, life, regeneration.

The new fronds are supported by the healthy mature fronds of the present day. When their day is over. these fronds will die and fall to the forest floor, enriching the humus. Their stubs will remain, helping the renewing plant reach even higher to the sunlight. For the ponga, renewal is not something that happens from time to time, but it is a continuing process. Perhaps it would be easier to face up to renewal in our own human groupings, if we saw the process as continuous. It is by clinging to the ways of the past, rather than by building on them that damage is done when we

renew.

Neal Wilson

SM