Our Students

Hauora or Wellbeing is not a new idea. 2600 years ago, Aristotle defined the purpose of human life as “Eudaimonia”, which literally means “to have a good spirit” but which is typically translated as “flourishing”. So, Hauora or Wellbeing is not about how to repair your health when you become sick (as we often understand health care), but is more about answering the question:

“What does it mean to live a happy life?”

There are many models that help us answer this question, but the Te Whare Tapa Wha model is one that was developed in NZ, drawing on Maori understanding of Hauora, and easily applicable to anyone.

While there are four main “walls” of the model, encompassing the major areas of our wellbeing (Social, Physical, Mental/Emotional and Spiritual), it is just as important to realise that all of these rest on and depend upon a connection to whenua (land), which we draw our life from in many ways. This is particularly relevant to us here at Rathkeale, where we have such a beautiful place that we can feel strongly connected to.

When we look at the statistics on depression, anxiety and suicide, it becomes apparent that we need to spend some time thinking about and discussing hauora/wellbeing, as we live in a time where what it means to live well is not something that is always made clear to us.

We are constantly developing our understanding of what it means for us to live a happy life, and we may have learned a lot of things through our own life experience that contribute to that (e.g., Spending time in nature, making time to connect with friends and family, scheduling in ‘downtime’ and holidays to keep us refreshed.)  These lessons we have learned are things we can all share with each other through the Hauora programme.