Let's Just Live Now

Remember the moments in your life, which seem like a distant dream? As I sit on the bus to the city, I flash back to an eight hour bus ride through the mountains of Nan, a moment of respite. Looking out over the foreign yet beautiful landscape, never knowing where I would head when I arrived. Sitting in my cosy lecture room, I have a flashback of my friends working in the scorching heat, ploughing the land to pay for his education.  It feels like a distant dream, and my brain fathoms to process this dream was once a reality. My trip to Thailand was a life altering experience. Filled with many realisations and learnings. I met people who worked endlessly day in and out, to get an education, to feed their families. To survive. Yet here I sat, with everything on my lap, but completely blinded to the fortune of my reality. Where would I be without that experience? I can't fathom the thought. It's easy to live life here in our overabundant homes. Completely disconnected from t...

Hello friends! I'm back again with a life update, new realisations, and exciting times to come. Some of you may know that I recently started back at uni after taking a year and a half off study. I'm not going to lie, the start has been a bit rocky, and I forgot what it actually meant to sit your butt down and study! But the feeling of learning, of broadening your horizons, of gaining new knowledge and awareness of what's happening in the world has been an exhilarating journey. There's so much to learn! There's so many ways to serve! I am forever grateful to have this opportunity. However, a good old friend started creeping back into my life. My old amigo. You may know him too, he seems to be a popular pal! He sits at the back of your brain, reminding you of "all the things you need to do".  His little nagging voice that whispers "hey hey, amiga, remember the tasks you said you had? Don't you fall behiiind... Do you want to fail? Do y...

A lot has changed in the past year. Life has taken twists and turns that I never thought would be a reality.  This year, I have been extremely fortunate to be able to surround myself around some of the most creative, effective, and entrepreneurial souls I have ever met. My mind has been expanded in many ways, thinking of ideas, solutions, creating and being different. There have been many blessings, and I could never be more grateful. However, there has been repetitive thoughts that kept popping up in my head. I found myself comparing, thinking thoughts such as “Why am I not like them? Why am I not creative? Am I going to be a failure my whole life? Am I not cut out to be like this? Should I wait for someone to tell me what to do, instead of taking initiative with the chance of making a mistake?”  With the blessing of being surrounded by creatives, there was also a black horse that loomed over. The horse of comparison. I see my friends hammering through projects tha...

What an experience. One of cooperation. One of unity. One of helpfulness. One of connecting our hearts and community to nature. Two weeks ago, I had the incredible opportunity to take part in the building of a new Community Garden at Grace International, Glen Innes.  It was a beautiful day with a beaming atmosphere. Here, I was able to meet many happy faces from Grace International, all coming together for the same purpose... to create a new element in the hopes of nourishing the environment and the community.  Lead by the incredibly, warm hearted Dorthe Siggaard (Community Activator of Tamaki WRAP), a group of six worked for two hours in the sun and heat, to create the end product of three boxes for the Community Garden! Community Gardens is something I've only started learning about recently, but having the few experiences I have had just proves to me the power of it. In different locations, including retirement villages, I have seen the it's uniting strength as...

A family of four sit together over the dinner table, enjoying the harmonious feast. An infatuating smell fills the air. Mouths water over the extraordinary meal that sits in front of them. Everywhere around, you see faces smiling, hear sounds of giggling, and pure joy fills the atmosphere. This is the beauty of Friday dinner time.  However, it didn't always look like this. One day there would be a lonely space in one corner, parents wondering where their daughter was spending this precious time. An other day, they would all sit  together, but instead of smiles, you would see faces of pure boredom. Of anxiousness to see what the friends had replied to a message sent two minutes ago. A mind anywhere else but here. Oh, how grateful are we that things have changed... How has this time in my family changed so drastically?... I ask myself. How did we go, from our isolated lives, to one full of loving moments together? Our dinner times are now on...

It’s only my been two weeks since I left New Zealand, and it already feels like a lifetime. With a variety of experiences, from spending a few days visiting tribes in the mountains, to spending a week with a local community, and backpacking around beautiful places. In this short amount of time, this is what I’ve realised: Yes travelling is incredible. You see beautiful new places, you see scenery like never before. You see the beautiful sunrise and mind blowing temples. But what I’ve realised that is the most important thing of travelling, is not only the beautiful locations, but more importantly the people you see them with. It’s not observing, but mentally learning the culture and physically living it. The true learnings come when you open your mind up to a whole new way of living. Learning to speak a new language is extremely rewarding. It shows that you truly want to bond with the person across from you. I found it as a way to respect that person, to link that bond that...

Hello friends! Hope you’re all doing well, the new year has kicked off hella awesome, and new adventures are coming up for you.  For those of you who know, I have had the amazing opportunity to make my way to Thailand. And if you know me well, you know I’m already processing every little thing that’s happened. So I wanted to talk about one thing that has really come up in my mind, the concept of oneness.  Imagine this. You walk up to a stall, pull out your translation book, and ask for one Papaya salad in the most convincing Thai you possibly can. The lady stares  at you with a blank look on her face. Her poor brain trying to process what this young girl is trying to say. Next scene, you want to ask for a fork, so you go up the young girl  and with your best sign language you imitate forking out your food. She laughs at you, grabs the food with her hands and puts it in her mouths. You laugh together at your foolish western self. However, that look of ...