The neat thing is that it's a song that resounds with many different people. How there's a longing to know what's beyond the reef but being told that it's a dangerous place and it's best not to go there but when I think about the pioneers of the Pacific who first ventured out to set sail to new islands, it would have been with an opposite spirit of wanting to see what's out there - of having an adventurous spirit.
I think that pioneering spirit was one that my parents engraved into me when they first ventured away from their island homes to seek a "better" future with much more opportunities than they believed their island homes offered. That same pioneering spirit encouraged me to see how far I could go in my studies and I'm still sailing that canoe today.
It was the same spirit that encouraged me to learn to paddle in an outrigger (waka ama) firstly with Manukau Outrigger club back in the day and then with Tamaki but due to work commitments, I wasn't able to continue but still enjoy watching it and am encouraging my own children to give it a go too.
It's the same pioneering spirit that I think Pasifika people need to have today in finding out about what is beyond that "reef" in our lives that stops us from seeking that potential or God given gift that we've been given. I feel really privileged that I'm doing what I enjoy doing through painting and writing beyond work and family commitments to making a contribution to our society (however small) that is a legacy that will live beyond me.
I hope that you will see how far you will go and start paddling beyond that reef - you'll never know until you try and try until you succeed...
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