Hope you’re having a nice start to the year :-) The Gregorian calendar is a social construct lol but it’s nice to have reference points for reflection and manifestation.
Speaking of reflection, I had this lovely conversation walking around Wellington with my new friend Riley a couple days back which got me thinking on why exactly I am doing what I’m doing. I think we all owe that to ourselves, to critically think about why we do what we do. Life is too short to spend time mindlessly. We chatted about the difference in systems people have live in around the world that forms the basis for purpose/meaning in action. For me, I’ve come to the notion that every decision I make is either to enjoy the fruits of life for myself, as we owe it to us to enjoy this special and sacred experience, or for others, as we owe it to others to use our privilege to uplift the community. In this way, I think an “occupation” is a platform to carry out the second mission, duty to others, while a bit of the first mission, providing enough financial security to enjoy the fruits of life for yourself. I don’t think I was using my time at my last occupation to fulfill the first mission in an effective way, it was hours spent of my botting around on my laptop without any clear way of seeing how I was bettering my community. I am grateful because it gave me the financial resources needed to embark on the journey I am on now.
The thing that got me thinking the most out of our conversation was the idea of scale/impact in your duty to uplift others. I think you can make yourself go crazy over the fact that there is always more you can do and more people you can help given the scale and worldly connectedness of society. There is a certain point in the utalitarian, “greatest good for the greatest number” mindset in which you lose any semblance of human connection at the scale you are operating at. This is where inherently where the corporate world and I did not click. I observed decisions, decisions with tremendous impact on the livelihoods of people, being made by people who were so distant from the people who are most affected by the decisions. People become numbers on an Excel sheet or a data point; you strip the human out of humanity. It’s a function not only at work, but also in things like social media and “keyboard warriors”, we don’t have any skin in the game or mindfulness for our actions’ impact on others . This “out of sight, out of mind” mentality also relates to my last blurb about overconsumption.
It was interesting chatting with Riley about this topic because ever since she’s moved to New Zealand she’s worked very interpersonal, people-centric jobs, like most other young travellers here. I think that’s ultimately why I chose to start my journey in New Zealand and to bikepack and work on farms and such; to live and “work” on a scale small enough to truly feel the connectedness of humanity with each other and the natural world. I am grateful to have both perspectives of impact/scale and connectedness, experiencing both ends of the spectrum will allow me to make meaningful change back home.
What I’ve been up to in the past few days! A little sample; walked around a cricket oval in Christchurch 🏏 , tried a glass of Albarino wine in Marlborough 🍷 (think I’ve reached a stage in life where wine is actually starting to taste dare I say … good), danced to a reggae cover band at a New Years bash 🕺, bathed in some geothermal water 😶🌫️
Some pics:
hot springs in taupo:
houses in wellington, the city gave me san fran vibes:
farmers market on the west coast, was such good vibes. everyone knew one another, sunshine, smiles:
Unfortunately don’t have many pictures, I was too busy living in the moment. Jk I needa do a better job capturing stuff for the homies, I promise picturesque content in the future. Instead, here are some things I’ve read and listened to in the past few days:
Some 📖 excerpts:
“Phoentics is powerful - tonation, words, intention. “There is an inseparable connection between the shabda or a particular sound and its artha, the object for which the sound stands.” - Taittiriya Upanishad
My friend Srinidhi recommended I read this Sanskrit text, it was nice as it was my first time reading a Hindu text, to read where the values I was raised with and is in my blood comes from. This except reminded me of conversations I had with my friends Isabella and Kalia on the power of language and words. It’s one of our attempts at spiritual communion.
“Religion would be the conscious and intelligent pursuit of men’s Final End, the unitive knowledge of the immanent Tao or Logos, the transcendent God-head of Brahman. And the prevailing philosophy of life would be a kind of Higher Utilitarianism, in which the Greatest Happiness principle would be secondary to the Final End principle - the first question to be asked and answered in every contingency of life being: ‘How will this thought or action contribute to, or interfere with, the achievement, by me and the greatest possible number of individuals, of man’s Final End?” - Aldous Huxley
My friend Jackson sent me this passage from the foreword of Brave New World. Made me reflect on how we can reshift societal goals to uplift each other to higher levels of consciousness, not simply to achieve happiness.
“The importance of being busy is SO 3D” - A sign I saw at a “raw food” restaurant yesterday. Productivity and busy-ness is lame. Keeps us 3D when we are all capable of reaching infinite dimensions.
Some 🎶 I’ve been vibin to:
Depths (Pt.1) by Yumi Zouma
Little Kiwi alternative band, good road trip vibes
Presencia by Danit
Encapsulates the connection and harmony of the universe so well. Cheers for to my friend Dan for recommending this album while we were rooftop jamming on a rainy day in Oaxaca. Will always cherish that moment and this song is a way it lives on.
Sunshine Baby by Japanese House
So melodic, my friend Jeff invited me to a Japanese House concert in Austin right before I left and it was so freakin good. A little thing Japanese House did which I appreciated so much was she brought extra guitar picks to throw into the crowd, a simple and small act made loads of peoples’ day.
Spitting of the Edge of the World by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
folks: why did you pick new zealand? me: cuz its the EDGE OF THE WORLDDDD
Anything by Courtney Barnett
Anything and everything by her. She doesn’t miss.
Much love !!!
Adi
brought me to tears :’) so well written. thank you for taking the time to share your journey - feels like I’m on this adventure too :) love love love it ♥️ can’t wait for the next one!