The thrill of participatory social justiceListen, or download the MP3 Questions from the Q&A session didn’t make it into the audio. They are on screen in the video, and listed below.
Marlon attended Western Springs College and then moved to Wellington where he was a student activist at Victoria University, serving as President of the students association, campaigning against sexual violence and in favour of mental health support for students. He also worked part time as an organiser in the Living Wage Movement during his time as a law student at Victoria. Marlon is now the full-time community organiser for Te Ohu Whakawhanaunga, a broad-based coalition in Auckland working for social justice.
There’s a lot of talk of gratitude with thanksgiving and Christmas approaching. Gratitude is a good thing! There’s plenty of scientific and spiritual support for the benefits of gratitude.
However, I’m going to take a slightly unusual approach and talk about the relationship between gratitude and self-control.
Self-control is also timely, with New Year’s resolution around the corner. We’ll talk a little more about self-control before explaining how gratitude influences self-control.
But before we do that – a little thought exercise.
Kia ora tatou katoa. Nga mihi nga mihi nui. Nga mihi ki a koe, Ted. Thanks for the introduction. And te whare e tu nei. Tena koe. I acknowledged the house in which we are standing or sitting. Ted has kindly mentioned the book, Histories of Hate. And so I have had a long connection in studying the far right. And so earlier this year, as Ted has indicated, the Prime Minister and Cabinet appointed me as a co-director of He Whenua Taurikura. He Whenua, land, Taurikura, peace, so land of peace. And what we’re tasked with doing is bringing together the best research and knowledge that we can to avoid ever having to encounter an event like the March 2019 again. We’re just getting underway. We had a hui here in Auckland two weeks ago, in which we brought together communities, government departments and experts and we looked at the research that is available, but also the gaps that exist. Coincidentally, this book, Histories of Hate, was written before this appointment. But Paul Morris, who some of you might know who’s involved with religious diversity initiatives in New Zealand and is a member of the Jewish community, he and I wrote the chapter on what’s happening in countries like New Zealand at the moment. And so I just want to share some thoughts of what we’re seeing.
A supernova explodes in some far-flung corner of the universe. Billions of years later, driving to work, your memories are recharged listening to jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong performing What a Wonderful World.
Billions of years later, driving to work, your memories are recharged listening to jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong performing What a Wonderful World.
As I continue this reflection I want to offer a quotation from one of my mentors, Bernard Eugene Meland. He wrote it in 1931 just home from post graduate studies in Germany and still formulating his ‘mystical naturalism’. Subsequently, it has helped shaped much of my thinking and living religiously within a naturalistic framework.
Nikki was going to speak to us today specifically on the wider community reaction to the Chinese community as a result of Covid-19. Events have overtaken that and this talk now covers broader issues around Covid-19.
