Issue 20 | August 13,2012 | critic.co.nz

chAPlAiN
Where is your turangawaewae, your
place to stand? The place where
you feel a sense of community and
belonging and identity; where you feel most
loved, valued and supported; where you feel
“at home”? Where is it?
For some it’s a physical place: a mountain, river,
beach, or lake. Perhaps it’s the place you were
born, either here in NZ or somewhere overseas.
Regardless of where you are in the world, it
doesn’t move or change. It serves as an anchor.
It keeps you strong. For others, turangawaewae
is a more portable reality. There’s a searching
and, hopefully, finding that happens with each
new location we find ourselves in.
You may have unconsciously done this when
you first arrived to study at Otago. Homesickness
46
TURANGAWAEWAE
yOur PlaCe tO stanD
is the normal, and usually temporary, response
to a loss of connection and relationship, and
most of us have felt it in some shape or form.
Finding your new turangawaewae resolves this
crisis. Some find it in their College of Residence,
a new group of flatmates, or their classmates.
Others find it in groups that share a common
faith or worldview, be they Christians, Muslims,
Wiccans, or Atheists. Others still find it in groups
that share a common nationality or ethnicity, or
groups that bring together others of the same
gender or sexual expression.
What is it that such places or groups provide?
Check out this list and see if I’ve missed anything:
community, relationships, a sense of
inclusion and belonging; a place to express who
we are, our gifts and abilities; a place to grow,
to have some of our rough edges knocked off; a
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place of connection to the “bigger picture” – to
generations past, and a hope for the future…
I’ve also observed that our appreciation of our
particular turangawaewae can change in the
light of life events like leaving home, graduation,
entering a committed relationship, the beginning
or loss of work, the death of a significant
other, etc. I spend much of my time as a Chaplain
on campus talking with students and staff who
are negotiating their way through such events.
For most, a new awareness of the depth and
richness of their turangawaewae arises. For
the very few who find this road too difficult or
painful, the results are often tragic.
Finding and embracing your turangawaewae
is an essential task. I wonder, where is yours?
Mike Wright - University Chaplain