WellBeing Being Issue 3

An adventurous spirit can lead you on some wild and wonderful journeys that open your mind and heart to new ways of thinking, feeling and being. The only real requirement is consciously choosing to dance on the edge of discomfort. Not in the absence of fear, but in spite of any fear that’s present. Where you are in life physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually will shape what sort of adventures you embark on. One day you may feel a sense of adventure while cooking up a storm in your kitchen. In another moment, adventure might be feeling the thrill of riding waves at your local beach break. Or maybe an adventure to you means sharing a soul-baring, heart-opening conversation with a loved one. Perhaps all we’re ultimately seeking in an adventure is…

I don’t think it’s a mere coincidence that Being magazine was birthed into the world at a time when it’s been imperative to draw on mindfulness as a tool to cultivate balance, ease and calm among chaos near and far. We’re being pushed and pulled into unhelpful ways of thinking, feeling and doing, which despite their challenges, also present us with an opportunity to come back to presence and return to our natural state of being. My last face-to-face interview before the world went into lockdown was with singer-songwriter Kim Churchill (see page 118 for the write-up); on the same day I went to my last live gig. Reflecting back on that experience, I was reminded of the innate need that rests within human beings to share meaningful moments — like…

“The best journey takes you home.”— Harold B Lee Every adventure you embark on can elicit some kind of inner awakening that connects you more intimately with the things you’ve disconnected from, both in your internal world — your home within — and your external world. And perhaps in order to reconnect to the home within yourself, you need to remove yourself from your physical abode and embrace whatever adventure presents itself as you journey back. I recently put this contemplation to practice within the four walls of a kombi van. The journey begins An array of bright-coloured Volkswagen kombi vans are dotted across the property making up the fleet that Alyce Georgievski and her husband (an experienced VW mechanic) George, the founders of Hire a Kombi, have been growing for the past…

Have you ever had a “spark” of genius — that great idea for a book, podcast, painting, business or community project, but then found yourself getting in your own way? Has self-doubt made it hard for you to start or finish projects that matter to you? Having great ideas that only reside in your mind and unfinished projects in a notebook or computer are all signs that something is getting in the way of your creative endeavours. One of the biggest culprits behind procrastination and unrealised dreams is perfectionism. While perfectionism may seem like a good attribute at first glance, the underlying driver of perfectionism is often fear. The fear of not being good enough that sits below perfectionism can swallow up your ability to create. While perfectionism may be the protective mechanism…

Thanks to online dating, it has never been easier to find your perfect match. But with this increased opportunity for connection, and so many “options” at your fingertips, you may also experience a paradox where you are left feeling confused, disconnected and disheartened. Humans need intimacy and meaningful connections to survive, but we can often look for these things in the wrong places. Whether you are swiping mindlessly on Tinder, fantasising about meeting your future partner at the supermarket, waiting for that text message after a date, entangled in past relationship hurts, overwhelmed by feelings of loneliness and rejection or swept up in feelings of hope and excitement (those butterfly feels), it’s easy to be taken away from the present moment. Clinical psychologist and co-developer of The Mindful Self-Compassion Program, Christopher Germer,…

“What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.”— Kurt Vonnegut If you feel lonely, ironically you’re not alone. When it comes to loneliness, it seems people in their twenties and thirties feel it the most, with a 2019 YouGov report finding that three in 10 millennials always or often feel lonely. The millennial generation (born from the start of the 1980s to the mid 1990s) also reported having fewer acquaintances and friends compared to other generations. Loneliness is often blamed on the prevalence of technology, yet tech can be an important source of socialisation (especially for those who struggle with social anxiety). Whether or not the digital age…