Tau refers to being settled, calm, landed, or arrived at a destination. Mauri tau means that you have landed in a state of calm and balance. Like the tide, this state ebbs and flows and requires regular awareness and practice. Tau can be expressed as a settled state where you are aware of your kare-a-roto, your thoughts, feelings and emotions, your environment, and your relationships.
Being tau means that you are able to make decisions thoughtfully and in tune with your wairua and the mauri of others. Mauri tau also enables you to practice self-compassion by thinking of loved ones and their wellbeing and then redirecting that to yourself. Being considerate of other people’s wellbeing also facilitates mauri ora.
- Able to engage with others
- Able to focus on what needs to be done
- Experience enjoyment when good things happen
- Feeling a sense of āio (harmony, calm)
- Feeling that you have value and mana
- Participating in routines and usual roles/mahi
- Noticing and supporting whānau
- That you are settled, your emotions are balanced and you’re making good decisions
- They enjoy being with you and they feel well too
- That you believe in yourself
You might still feel moments of unbalance, but you’re able to refocus and draw support and strength from your resources. Mauri tau also enables you to draw on the energies of mauri noho and mauri oho. For example, being rested is a state of mauri tau, and being prompted to act quickly is a state of mauri oho. Each state tells us how we are reacting to something that is happening, or what we think is happening. Tau can also be similar to chilled – but the difference is that too chilled can be seen as a negative (where you don’t act when you should).
- Being in a space to action your plans
- Able to meet the needs of others and your own
- Being comfortable to make decisions
- You can take a leadership role or actively support others to lead
- Not acting when there are good reasons to do so (safety is not an issue)
- When you have not balanced things out well and you are too chill
- That you expect others to be tau when they are not ready
- Others may not understand your state of tau
Reflections
Take some time and reflect, or discuss with your friends and whānau some of the following points:
- What does mauri tau look like for you? For your whānau? (What are you doing, feeling, thinking, noticing?)
- When is it helpful for you?
- What are signs that it’s no longer helpful? (These are our indicators to move towards tau.)
- What do you do to move from mauri tau to mauri oho? Below is also a list of suggestions. Have a go with identifying things you can do, and what ideas your whānau have.
