New Directions, New Journeys - Issue #1

July 18th, 2021

Continuing On

Kia ora e te whaanau:

In the last newsletter I sent out to you, I talked about needing to make changes in my life. A number of you who know me well will know that , in many ways, one journey is now drawing to a close and another is beginning. I think that happens for all of us at different time is our lives. It can be very frightening for some of us.

I doubt if it is ever easy for anyone. At all. But it happens.

And it should. I think we die and are reborn many times in our lives. If we are lucky.

I remember growing up with the idea that our life journey is rather like walking along a beam. We arrive set foot on one end, then walk along it until we drop off at the other. And of course we progress from left to right, because that is how we ( have learned to) read.

In recent times, as I have journeyed deeper and deeper into Te Ao Maaori (the Maaori world), learning more about the old wisdom, I have embraced the idea that life is spiral in nature, rather like the koru (fern frond.) We meet the same challenges many times in our life, but each time we have more experience and see them in new ways, perhaps with a deeper understanding. The image here is from a set of affirmation cards Based on Maaori spirituality, which I spent 8 years making.

Have you had this experience of meeting the same challenges? Just when you think you have it all sorted , it sneaks up behind you and ambushes you yet again?

Anyway what does this have to do with anything?

Well, I can't help myself.

I love writing , making pictures and sharing.

But the old way of writing a blog, or sending out newsletters after carefully ( (laboriously) crafting them, which I have done sporadically for nearly fifteen years, is over. Until now I have used a service called Mail Chimp to send them out.

And there are now newer and better ways.

The newsletter is back big time globally. A lot of journalists who lost their jobs with Covid-19 have pivoted to publishing their own newsletters online. Most use a service called Sub Stack, which allows them to build subscribers and eventually paid subscriptions. Cantankerous Tony has opted to use Revue, a service owned by Twitter. I am just getting my head around it and its way of working. It allows me to insert links on the fly and share stuff I find, including Tweets and things I think you will find interesting. It also allows me to integrate across all my social media (I think).

So herewith my first newsletter.

Nau mai, Haere mai. Welcome.

And you can help me by giving me feedback, by telling me what works and what does not, what you would like to see more and what you could do without. If you have time and inclination, please cut loose in the comments section.

Ngaa mihi.

Links and Inspirations

Reuters journalist Danish Siddiqui was killed on Friday while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters near a border crossing with Pakistan. This gallery showcases some of

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