Written by Alex Rogers, Hauraki Gulf Forum
I arrived in Pōneke for Retreat 3 on the theme of 'Power and Governance' in a really good place. I was well rested, could park my work for the rest of the week, and was looking forward to the kōrero on an important (and hot) topic for Aotearoa.
Then things began to change.
Before the retreat had even begun, a chance encounter led to an unexpected experience and the personal discovery that I had been suppressing some of my most cherished interests and creative outlets—justified on the basis that work and family were all I had time for these days.
Day one of the retreat brought further change, with news on arrival that our two main speakers had to both withdraw due to illness. Efforts were made to reschedule, but to no avail. Suddenly, a retreat at which I, along with many, were looking to learn from those steeped in power and governance was quickly morphing into an exercise in collective power-sharing and co-governance.
It was up to us to collectively show leadership, and to bring our best to the moment—and over the course of a very special three days, that is what I witnessed. I saw person after person step up and lead, a depth of conversation we would only have dreamed of going into the week, and a level of welcome personal confrontation that certainly had me leaving in a quite different space than when I arrived.
I left taking with me lessons on the importance of honesty, of authenticity, of meeting the moment. I left challenged to step up further. It's not a comfortable place to be, but I'm happy sitting in that discomfort. Because sometimes things happen for a reason. Mauri ora!