Category: New Zealand
Thoughts from the Village Crazy
by Josie
My left eye felt like the nesting site of a large bird, the weight suctioning my lid to my cheek. I couldn’t tell if I had a right eyelid or not. I was too distracted by the weight of the left. I hobbled towards a park bench, both ankles swollen and pulsing with another long shift. My bike came to rest against a … Read More Thoughts from the Village Crazy
Aimlessness Suits Me
by Josie
It does not appear that this sun shall set nor the melody in my mind to cease; I do not feel I shall ever be hungry nor recollect that feeling of cold. The sky mirrors my mind— empty and warm and without agenda— I find, in having no destination, I have come to where I should be.
Tree Hugger
by Josie
I don’t belong in the concrete world. It’s too hot for my feet too electric for my soul. When they ask me what I do I say I count the leaves on any given tree and try not to cry too loudly as I contemplate the complexity.
Rushing to Wait
by Josie
When I grow up, I will settle down near the last train station on the line. It’s where I live now, a five-minute bike ride from the last station on the Western Line. My e-bike whirls as I ride up a long concrete pathway lined with rails. Sometimes the train whooshes right past me, hurtling towards the station faster than I. Inviting me for … Read More Rushing to Wait
Transmitting a Different Reality
by Josie
I am building my self-esteem around a sentence: I can learn anything. I’m not great with kids? Not a great runner? Not all that social? Not a published writer? Doesn’t matter, I remind myself (over and over again) being “great” is not my self-worth. I’m not great with kids yet. I’m not a great runner yet. I am learning the balance between Just Josie … Read More Transmitting a Different Reality
A Christchurch Couchsurf
by Josie
When spending a day in aimless enjoyment of the surrounding scenery, of the sounds a soul makes when it hears all those birds, of the capital position of being, I get this remarkable lightness in my heels and begin to bound more than walk. Sometimes, in between long conversations with myself, I opt for a spot of heel clicked and random dancing. Christchurch was … Read More A Christchurch Couchsurf
Singing my Soul: a Week of No Headphones
by Josie
Two birthdays ago my father gave me a glorious pair of bluetooth running headphones, and they have served me faithfully; up and down mountains, on bike rides into the city, on trams and trains and leaning my head against plane window panes. I love writing to jazz. I love running to podcasts. I love a long bus ride with a good audiobook. I lost … Read More Singing my Soul: a Week of No Headphones
A Week With No Alarm
by Josie
Tom Bilyeu, host of the Impact Theory Podcast, never sets an alarm to wake up in the morning. He lets his body tell him when he’s had enough, and attributes much of his creative energy to this connection. I am a regular listener of his podcast, and have admired this about him for a while. I wanted to do it, too, give it a … Read More A Week With No Alarm
Conversations with my Subconscious
by Josie
It was 5:15 a.m. and my hands felt like doorknobs stapled to my wrists. My fingers had been absorbing the bulk of rain-wind-early-morning-wintery-chill combo, and I had to garner support from at least three of them to shift the gears on my bike. I’d long since forgotten I possessed toes. I was biking to Il Forno, the Italian bakery at which I play brunch … Read More Conversations with my Subconscious
Squiddy Library
by Josie
The library is, for me, punctuality’s greatest weakness. Especially Auckland’s public library, a carefully laid, intertwined system of so many books in so many libraries dotting so many corners. I can’t seem to sweep my gaze from east to west without spotting a library. They call to you.
