New Zealand Weekly Update #49

25th of September until 01st of October 2023

Approximate reading time: 10 minutes

Lets get it started

Good morning folks. Another week has passed. Another week full of sport, of work, of living in this beautiful country. Surrounded by nature, mountains, lakes and wonderful people. And with a lot of challenges, a lot of learnings, a lot of things that teach me. About myself. About other people. About what I want, what I need, what I am not willing anymore to allow. And about that life is giving us the same experiences again and again until we have learned from them. Until we have learned our lesson and until we are able to act differently the next time with the same situation (and either the same or differnet people). If we have learned, what we really need, what we really want and if we are able to set boundaries. To say no to things we don’t allow anymore. To say no to emotions we don’t want to feel anymore. If we are able to understand, that in the end, we are responsible for our feelings. For our suffering. And that we can not blame others for this. Since sometimes we suffer from the same experiences again and again. Suffer from the same patterns again and again. Suffer from the same emotions again and again. And we ask ourselves again and again „why does this happen to me all the time“? „Why does it happen again“? „Why does it not change at all“? Easy answer: Because we did not change. Because we have not been able yet to change our mindset, to change our decisions, to change our actions. So life will challenge us again and again until we have learned. Until we are able to understand our patterns, our behaviour, our actions and the necessary change. And then, we will be able to experience different things. Different feelings. Different emotions.
I am not talking about changing things that make you. Things like respect, being kind, being honest and communicative. Those are things, that are important. For yourself and others. So I am not talking about being kind, respectful and open-minded to others just because you have made a bad experience with others. But I am talking about the importance of knowing your own value. Your own boundaries. And about not being afraid to defend them. To explain them. And about not allowing people to not respect them. If you allow people to treat you in a way you don’t want to be treated, you are lying to yourself and you will get back in your well known patterns. And life will prove you again and again.
Quite a deep topic right in the beginning after a quite busy week. Monday, I went out with my bike for a little trail in the sun, with a little nap by a bench in the sun and some table tennis at the end of the day. Tuesday after work, I went back to the pools to go for more swimming and to challenge myself for a new distance. 4km in two hours, way to go and plenty of energy left. Wednesday out for a short run. And since I had some energy left, I went to Queenstown straigt after work on friday to go for some ice-skating. And it has been a great evening with just one slip, some icehockey practice (and I failed quite badly 🙂 ) and some happy times on the ice. Unfortuntatelly, this evening has been way too short, but being back on the ice and having a good time was worth it the driving back home in the middle of the night (sometimes a Red Bull is just a relief 🙂 ).

Timing

As you already know, I was able to get another chance for Canada in the beginning of the year. Back in 2020 I was supposed to go to Canada, to work with huskys. I quit my job. My flat. And even though I have been in a relationship I was keen to move abroad to have an international experience. I was starving for something like this. I was scared. I was excited. And ther was nothing that could have stopped me. But Covid. I never thought that I am gonna miss the opportunity working in Canada. Being finally able and brave enough to do something else. Something different. But for some reason, it just was not meant to be. And it was tough. It was exhausting. It pushed me down in a certain way. But on the other handside, it taught me that I have to keep going. And I ended up starting to run. Regulary. For no reason. I just did it. Again and again and again. And I still do it. With fun. With purpose. With energy. So lokking back, it has just not been the right timing. The right place. The right whatever.
But I was stubborn, I still wanted to have this experience. I still wanted to get another chance. Another opportunity. And I got it. This year in february. Without knowing what to do in Canada. Where to go. Where to live. Since there has been a huge difference between february 2020 and february 2023. I have been already abroad. I have been already living far away from home and I have made already a lot of new experiences. But I was given a second chance. And it is exciting on the one handside. It might be my last chance for work and travel. It might be my last chance of working in Canada and being that flexible and free and spontaneous.
But from time to time, it scares the hell out of me. It makes me think about my current life here in New Zealand. Since all I ever wanted, all I ever needed – all those things are here. With me. In me. Around me. And again, I get the feeling that the timing for Canada seems like to be just not right or just another big challenge. A challenge full of decisions. Full of „what is really important for me?“. Easy answers.
Nature. Freedom. Connection. Love. Family. Friendship. Happieness. Reliability.

Having said that, I have already made one important decision regarding Canada. Which means flying directly from New Zealand to Canada in February. Since it makes sense. Financialwise. In way of logistics. And in ways of time. And I have made the decision, that I try even more to match words with actions. To be reliable to myself and others. To know what to expect from myself. And to do what is necessary to be done from time to time. And to follow the gut feeling, the inner compass even more whenever possible. And last but not least, to be not afraid of failing, to be not afraid of being hurt and to just keep going with all the things I have and all the things I can give and share.

Back to bike

Sunday off, time for bike. Perfect weather conditions. So I went out with Anthony for a bike trail starting from Cromwell to Clyde. Dunstan River Trail Track. All the way along the Clutha River and Dunstan Lake. Up and down. Gravel Road. A little normal street tracks. And heaps, heaps of wind this day. It blew us away from time to time and since the trail is partly narrow, we had to be pretty careful not to fall down or to slip.

From time to time we had a little break by a bench for some snacks and water. And for some nice views and silent moments. And most of people we have met this day went out with E-bikes and passed by sooo easily and with some big smiles in their faces. Cheaters :). After about 3.5 hours, we made it to our final destination Clyde and had some fantastic lunch and a well deserved coffee and berski afterwards. And since we hade to make our way back to Cromwell to the car, we booked a shuttle which drove us back in around 30 minutes (and I had a great nap while during the way back). Indeed a pretty nice trail with some awesome spots for a short break and some amazing views to the lake and the river. And even though I love hiking in the mountains and the area around Wanaka, it is quite fun to try something else and change the way of movement. 🙂

What else to say?

Well, sport keeps me going. Great conversations with great people keeps me going. Having chats with friends back home from time to time keeps me going. My great team back at work keeps me going. This amazing nature of New Zealand keeps me going.
A lot of things that make me happy and fill me up with a lot of energy and joy. And Gratitude.
I am pretty excited about the next weeks and adventures. Will keep you updated. Enjoy your time, might be the timing for you on your side. And if not, just keep going, be patient, be honest and be yourself.

Your DingyInternational
Felix