In Flow
What does flow mean in life? Flow describes the experience of being so completely immersed in something that you lose track of time and everything else fades in your brain. You are focused, you are mindful and you become consumed by the piece of work at hand. It is a wonderful experience and even the most mundane tasks can become rewarding. There is a fantastic article about Flow that leverages from the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihályi (1990).
Some of the key aspects of achieving flow in any activity are as follows:
Having a complete focus and concentration on the present moment. No distractions!
Merging together both your actions and your awareness of what you are doing. In other words, concentrating on what you are doing and how your actions relate to that.
Not thinking about yourself
Feeling that you have control over the activity that you are performing
The activity needs to be intrinsically rewarding
In his book, Csikszentmihályi argues that with increased experiences of flow, people experience "growth towards complexity". In other words, people flourish as their achievements grow and with that comes development of increasing complexity. If you can create an atmosphere that encourages flow and growth, this can absolutely increase the happiness and achievement of people. To maintain a flow state, you basically need to keep on challenging yourself.
The WMP has no shortage of challenges for individuals and groups as we lean into action based kaitiakitanga of Waiheke’s marine environment. When I reflect on the WMP actions since January 2023, I see Flow. For example:
The dozens of Regen divers trained with the WMP would concur that they have had a complete focus and concentration on the present moment as they have taken on the new skills of scuba diving.
The dozens of Kelp Gardener volunteers from the summer of 22/23 would tick off many of the dot points above. The activity of respectfully removing kina so rimurimu / seaweed can grow is a deeply satisfying experience that is intrinsically rewarding.
The people in the WMP caulerpa subgroup would agree that they were not thinking about themselves as they met, learned and planned proactive surveying. What started as an exercise in learning about exotic caulerpa so Waiheke could be prepared should the invasive seaweed make its way to Waiheke waters, has evolved into a holistic approach to marine monitoring and general surveillance.
The multiple Beach Cleans over the summer gave so many people the opportunity to Merge together both their actions and their awareness of what they are doing. Each Beach Clean provided space for not only the beaches and wetlands and forests to be cleared of rubbish but also space for reflection and discussion about the way we humans are inhabiting the earth.
At times during the conception and implementation of the Hangarua, Fishing tackle recycling project, I can imagine that Jude and his youth team felt not in control with such a long process to gain permissions. But they persisted and the pods are now in place around the island and providing an incredible service. As WMP Kaimahi Hapori / Community Coordinator Carys cycled back recently from checking the “totally full” Fish pod at Orapiu, I imagine that she did feel that she and the amazing youth team had control over the activity that they performed.
Sadly there is plenty of dysfunction affecting the marine environment, thus there is a pull to indulge our human tendency to focus on what is wrong, to focus our energy and attention outside ourselves and towards others who are doing ‘wrong’.
This E newsletter is an invitation to focus on what IS working, to come and DO with the Waiheke Marine Project and get in flow. Together we can flourish as our achievements grow and with that comes development of increasing complexity so we can tackle the complexity of marine protection and regeneration.
By Miranda Cassidy-O'Connell
Project Kaiwhakatere ~ Navigator