Aroha Ki Te Tangata

This is Hina the Moon Goddess - she represents feminine power of strength and conviction. This is a piece that I am very passionate about. It is part of my self portrait series which depicts ‘te ira wahine’ and our pursuit for evolution and ascension. I started painting at a time of serious grief and growth. It was 2 weeks after we buried our mumma and I had just suffered a miscarriage. Painting helps me to re-centre, reground and tap into a pool of creation, self doubt, anxiety and then a serene calm. The sea of emotion has been choppy today - it must be the moon.
Keryn Aroha Jones

He Māori ahau. Before my parents knew whether I would be a boy or a girl, one thing was certain. I would be born Māori, I would live my life Māori and eventually I would die Māori. So for those of you who ask me why I have a moko kauae or what it means etc know this. I love my Māori heritage, I chose to be Māori in this lifetime and I will be the best Māori I can. I am a proud and staunch Māori woman. My moko is my companion in life and beyond death.

Nau mai, haere mai ki tēnei Āo o Keryn. Welcome to my world and my company Aroha Ki Te Tangata.

Today I’m introducing myself, Keryn Aroha Jones and my beautiful baby boy Kaimatangi Jesus Jones.

It was March 2021 and I was pregnant with my 4th child. I chose to keep it private firm social media.

During those nine months I found it very hard to maintain my social media presence. I had up till then become an open book, sharing everything about everyday and I really struggled with concealing the pregnancy. Not because I owed it to anyone. But because it was my truth and my current life experience at that time and I loved the attention and engagement.

Sharing on my socials during 2019 to early 2021 was an outlet for me, some form of therapy, sometimes I did it well and other times 🤦🏽‍♀️ BUT it was always about reclaiming my independence and standing strong through self acceptance, self love and self expression..

I was adamant that the way I handled myself through the whole pregnancy and events leading up to it would have been an inspiration for so many 😬 BUT at the time I didn’t know how to share the story, respectfully or responsibly without casting a villain, a victim and a hero. I thought long and hard about it and realised it was nobodies business but my own.

Thus the story remains largely untold. I shut down my socials for the last 4 months of the pregnancy. I came back with a bang and a newborn baby in my arms. It was the moment I’d been waiting for, I was finally back and able to share without restraint.

But the tides had changed. My confidence and passion had waned and I struggled to regain the momentum I worked so hard to build. It just didn’t seem that important any more, after being absent for so long I found it hard to reconnect and reinvest. Plus I was exhausted.

Taking a break from social media helped me discover the true meaning of discernment. Knowing when, why and how to respond in any given situation. Nowadays I apply the following principles when considering what, when and why to share.

- [ ] to share snippets of my life stories selectively and strategically to provide context and reinforce whatever I’m talking about.

- [ ] to honour, serve and protect the parts and people from my life story that are special and sacred.

- [ ] to share my wisdom and insights intentionally in order to support and encourage others as they embark on their journey of self awareness and discovery.

I’m back now but this time it’s personal, precise and intentional.

I use my social standing and platforms” to speak truth, hope and love into the hearts and minds of people” I chose to see them and interact with them at their highest self. All I see is their beautiful potential and I hold the mirror up before them. I want to encourage and inspire our brothers and sisters to see beyond their current lot and dream their best fukn life into existence.

I do this just by being myself, leading by example from a place of love, using my voice, sharing what I’ve learnt and supporting others along their self discovery journey to become exactly who they’ve always been deep deep down.

Watch this space

Can I tell you something?

You can tell me everything but it won’t mean anything unless you tell it the right way.

And that there is the art of communication.

I remember what it felt like when I started doing this. It was a little bit terrifying but electrifying at the same time. It was so foreign to me and if I thought about it for too long I’d talk myself off the ledge so I stopped doing that. I stopped questioning and I decided to jump with wreckless abandon into the unknown and I was free. Free to be me.

We’ll kind of anyway, atleast for that moment in time….