I love gifting books, and I love being gifted books! This month’s book recommendation is one that was gifted to me back in 2020 and has since been greatly enjoyed, shared, and treasured. As you know, Sue and I are career educators with a passion for supporting people – young and old – to foster… Read More

We at times speak about random acts of kindness, and indeed this category of our blogs is devoted to the many different ways we perceive and experience kindness in our lives. This week I was the recipient of an act of kindness, in the form which could be called a gratitude letter. In wellbeing circles,… Read More

I guess the day had to arrive when I was due to write a Wellbeing Insight blog, and I am not well! The obvious solution, for one whose personal manifesto contains the sentence: I replenish myself and navigate all that life presents with love, including self-love, is perhaps not to write this one, to allow… Read More

As we look forward to 2025, we gently propose to all our mates that creating your personal manifesto is well worth the time and the effort. We wish to explore with you the effort required to create your personal manifesto. We do believe it requires focussed attention where you have the opportunity to ponder, to… Read More

Hugh Mackay, leading Australian sociologist, is no stranger to our blogs! I have recommended his books, The Inner Self, blog 128, and The Way We Are, blog 132, and blog 135. I return to his work in this blog, when recommending his book, Right & Wrong. I previously referred to Mackay as a learned elder,… Read More

Our hearts are heavy as we write this tribute to our mentor and friend, Chris Mackey. Tragically, Chris passed away last week – still in the prime of his career and with so much more to give. A quick search of our My Manifesto manuscript revealed that Chris’ name appears 14 times throughout the book… Read More

Recently, our family embarked on the significant challenge of moving house. As a family of six who have lived in the same home for the past 15 years, the transition to downsizing has been both purposeful and demanding. While the process has brought moments of nostalgia as we sorted through treasured keepsakes, it has also… Read More

I came across a word and a concept when reading David Brooks’ The Second Mountain. (I am loving this book, and it will be the focus of my next Book Recommendation blog). It was the Greek term agape. Brooks writes that the Greeks distinguish between three types of love: philia  friendship, eros — passion, and… Read More

Over the past decade, I have greatly admired the work of Dr. Lucy Hone, co-director of the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience. I’m fortunate to know Lucy (and her co-director, Dr. Denise Quinlan) personally and had the privilege of contributing a chapter to their recent book, The Educators’ Guide to Whole-School Wellbeing. Today,… Read More