The Gift of the Piwakawaka

This morning I woke with the urge to go escape and go walking with my son Kahu, and Maia the teenage retriever. I could have done with a little more sleep and I was looking forward to feeling the breeze on my face.

I hoisted Kahu onto my back and we headed down the steps to the Nelson's beautiful old Railway Reserve. Here, the trains used to run, several times per day, carrying people who wore the fashion of Aotearoa/New Zealand about one hundred years ago.

As we walked and Maia sniffed out the delicacies of the dog world (dead animals), I began to relax and listen to Kahu pointing at things, telling me in toddler language all about the world and how exciting it was.

And then we saw the Piwakawaka - the fantail. I think the Piwakawaka are the dolphins of the trees. They're cheeky and friendly and trusting. I pointed them out to Kahu and we watched them feeding. Soon they noticed us and began to swoop close by. This had Kahu shrieking with joy, and the feeling soon spread. I made that noise that they make, like a cork rubbing on a bottle and they accompanied us back along the track. I was soon shrieking louder than my son!

The simple pleasures of life - sometimes it's merely a matter of relaxing enough to notice.

To Get What You Want, You've Gotta Relax and Enjoy.

Life tends to serve things up in the most interesting and often unexpected ways. Some times our wishes are granted easily, things just seem to appear effortlessly. And then there are those other moments when no matter how hard we try we can't seem to get from A - Z. At times like these, it just seems easier to give up, and in a funny kind of way, that's exactly what we should do - let it go for a moment.

These are the times when a good dose of relaxation is in order. It's time to feed the spirit by allowing ourselves to feel happier. Though it may feel tempting to do the opposite, it's important to remember that once we've asked for what we want, it's time to let go and enjoy life. This part is really important. Why? Because, as we're enhancing our lives and upgrading to what ever we consider to be the better version of existing, we've got to be in the best space possible to recognise and receive the new improved version of life! It's important that we know, down to our very bones, that we deserve it and this can only happen when we're relaxed and happy.

This attitude to creating the life we want runs contrary to our culture of 'work hard, play hard', it's more along the lines of 'breath deep, and go with the flow' and it's much much more in alignment with a healthy body and a relaxed state of mind. It's pretty win-win really. I mean, just think: at the very least you're enjoying yourself and along the way you just might get what you asked for. So do me a favour - relax, breath deep and go do something easy.

What IS Good News?

Happyzine is New Zealand's totally free, totally positive news ezine and blog. It's been running for around ten months and it has around 150 subscribers. I (Editor and Founder - Charlotte Squire) am seeking to define 'good news' specifically for Happyzine, within a New Zealand context. Here are my musings:

I've been mulling this one over for a couple of years. I want Happyzine to host positive and uplifting news. Yes, that's one layer of Happyzine. But what does 'good news' mean? Every body has a different idea of 'good news' don't they? I might think it's great that it rained, you might think it's not so good, because you can't play soccer. Very simplistic example I know, but you know what I mean - it's a subjective term - we all have different beliefs when it comes to positive and negative.

One word that comes to mind is 'creativity'. I want Happyzine to host creative solutions to challenging issues. I want Happyzine to show that for every so-called problem - there are always options. I want to demonstrate the process of people and the planet working through small or significant road-blocks. I want to show that there are many ways to approach issues and that we all have a choice.

I also want to illuminate the 'strengths' of the people of Aotearoa, for example we have this reputation for being innovative, great! I want the stories that show we are. We also have a the 'number eight wire' reputation - even better - I want to show that with a little ingenuity and lateral thinking we can get what we need. I want to show via story and image the special traits of Kiwis and our environment.

Getting back to the 'process' word, just thinking off the top of my head, I want to show that the process of working towards a solution, can also lead to other solutions. For example the very act of effective communication can open doors between people. One recent example of this is President Obama's visit to the G20 - his manner must have put people at ease as he ended up creating a strong relationship with the formerly hostile French President Nicolas Sarkozy. This will ease future relations between the US and France.

Perhaps it's approaching life with the 'optimistic expectation' that anything is possible', that 'cup half full' thing.

And I also have in mind 'edge' what's our edge as a nation? What unique flavours make us stand out from other countries and is 'edge' different from 'strength'?

I definitely definitely definitely want Happyzine to be about 'community'. I want people to become actively involved in searching out and sourcing news and ideas that they consider to be positive and inspiring. I want the Happyzine community to feel inspired to participate.

Ok, whew, what an exciting blog to write. I wrote stuff I didn't even know I felt! I would really like some feedback on this blog, so I'm going to invite a few people to comment. And if you would do me the honour of sharing your thoughts, I would love that. Happyzine is a living, breathing idea. Happyzine is the people to contribute to it. Please help us create the most amazing positive news option for the people of Aotearoa and beyond.

Some questions to consider:

What is good news to you?

What does 'positive news' mean?

What should Happyzine be about, within the context of Aotearoa?

What should Happyzine's purpose be?

In gratitude,

Charlotte Squire

The Will of the Weka

They're coming back. The Weka are returning. Happyzine ran a story from the Otago Daily Times on the re population of 'buff Weka' in Wanaka. And since then I've heard of other Weka sightings in Golden Bay - specifically in Bird's Clearing and Totaranui. I remember them from my childhood - they were feisty and cheeky. They used to steal my toast in the mornings and I respected them from afar after they tried to peck my (seemingly tasty looking) toes. Despite my mild fear of the Weka as a wee one, I missed them when they disappeared and am very pleased to hear they're repopulating Aotearoa.

When did you last see the humble Weka? And where? What did it look like? What was it doing? What sort of mood did it seem to be in and did it try to steal your food? Did it appear buff and in a repopulating mood? Send in your weka report to Weka Report and become a pin-up Happyzine star over-night (well ... over-week).

Obama and His Wahine Inspire Hope

I'm enjoying seeing these two enter the world stage. I never thought I'd see such an inspirational American president as Obama stepping up to create world change. At the recent G-20 conference in London Obama apparently not only rubbed shoulders with the leaders of today's world, but, figuratively speaking, massaged them. Obama, who was warmly received by UK PM Gordon Brown, managed to appease even French President Nicolas Sarkozy's ruffled persona during the visit. He apparently impressed everyone, even the press, some of whom blessed him when he sneezed (apparently this is unheard of)! I think that Obama's presence is rippling out world-wide, caressing even nga tangata o Aotearoa. He's calming and he's inspiring, this bodes well for our future as citizens of the planet.

Parenting - Super Important - my rave

Imagine if ... parenting was so passionately valued in New Zealand that all parents were rewarded with general awe and admiration, strong financial support, and a grass roots drive to ensure each parent felt empowered to parent in a way that felt right on all levels of their being. Imagine if parents were held in such high regard that there were always many people flocking to baby-sit, people delighted the mere presence of a child at social gatherings and everybody kept an eye on our children to make sure they were happy and safe. Imagine if, during pregnancy women were held and cushioned in the bosom of her community, while their partners were supported by their peers through the life change. Imagine if the emotional security of a baby was so highly valued that great care was taken within our culture to ensure that all those people around the baby were healthy and happy, well able to intuitively, lovingly, consistently respond to all the needs of that baby. The likely consequence of this manner of care is a healthy, happy future generation; a culture of people who are kind, happy and sound in mind; people who are comfortable with their needs and in turn, they greatly respect the needs of all living beings and their environment. Just imagine ...

Web Talk - The New Design of Stuff

I'm just checking out the new Stuff website, and it's brilliant! It's clean, and uncluttered. It's smart and user friendly - they seem to have put heaps of thought into the key reasons that people visit Stuff and made those options easily available on the front page. And when you click on a link, you're presented with the option of checking out the latest headlines. With each inch that I scrolled down the page I was met with another link that I was pleased to see, for example they seem to have the important news, in colour down the left side of the page, and more personalised, peripheral material such as blogs and games available on the right - in duller colours. My website designer Galen at Luciddesign is always talking about making webpages more elegant and I was wondering whether this is a growing trend. Seems that it is, if Stuff, which was voted best overall website last year, are going this way, I'd best pay more attention to Galen!