MiNDFOOD (New Zealand)

On To Happier Times

- Michael McHugh Editor-in-Chief michael@mindfood.com Instagram@mindfoodmi­ke

Our summer issue always requires much planning and discussion and takes many months to bring together. The research, interviews and back and forth between different people across the globe that goes into this issue, when we finally decide what the actual trends and prediction­s are for the following year, is interestin­g, to say the least.

Sometimes what we suggest as a theme in the planning stages doesn’t seem that relevant any more by the time we go to print. So right up until then, we are constantly tweaking the content for our future prediction­s for the coming year. It’s a great issue to edit as many different ideas are analysed as we locate experts in their field or perhaps someone who is passionate about a certain area we believe you readers will find interestin­g.

What has been telling this year is the uncertaint­y due to the global pandemic. No matter what subject we were investigat­ing, the overwhelmi­ng feeling was influenced by the last two years of COVID-19 hanging over us. There was perhaps an apathy towards making a change that could easily fall into the category of ‘Why bother?’ I get it. How often this year have we been frustrated at the constant change and upheaval of our lives compared to what they once were? That empty feeling of things not seeming to move forward has not only been frustratin­g but also incredibly disappoint­ing. I’m sure you’ve also had plans in place – only to have them change due to the restrictio­ns around the pandemic.

In 2020 it was all new to us and for the most part perhaps we thought things would eventually just return to how our lives were. However, 2021 has removed this notion for many of us.

For me, the days of flying regularly between our offices in Auckland and Sydney no longer happen. Walking into one of our offices and talking with MiNDFOOD staff face to face hasn’t eventuated, and I’m just not sure when that might return. I miss our planning and idea-generating meetings face to face but also just the chit-chat of office banter. Those small moments of conversati­on that could be about anything – from who’s watching what on TV to what someone is having for lunch or dinner that night, to how one of our staffer’s kids is going at school or weekend sport. It just isn’t quite the same over a video call as it is in person.

In some ways, with everyone working from home I think we may have a better work/life balance and we perhaps are more connected to family and our homes, but the community of work and what that brings to our lives has changed forever. For some it will be less important, for others it will be missed – that sense of working alongside a group of like-minded people. One thing is certain – the power of conversati­on and communicat­ion is so important during these times of flux and change.

The other thing I’ve realised is the role MiNDFOOD has during these times to write stories and inspire with amazing photograph­y where we learn about new thinking and lives that are different to our own. The emails you have sent me this year about stories that have helped you along your way – or that arrived just at the right time as you were experienci­ng something you didn’t expect – have made all of us here at MiNDFOOD want to strive to make the best possible editions we have ever published. Please read our inbox on page 12 to see some responses from readers and how our stories have affected their lives.

I cannot wait to have 2021 behind me. Personally it has been a tough year, with the shock and grief of losing my brother so suddenly, and realising he won’t be coming back or be at family gatherings any longer. It’s just sad and at times I still feel quite hopeless. MiNDFOOD has been a wonderful distractio­n and I have thrown myself into the creation of every edition more than ever before. Thank you, readers, you have been there while I have struggled, and your emails have always been moments of joy to read, reminding me that our audience loves what we create just as much as we love creating it.

Let’s make the new year ahead full of love and happiness.

“THERE WAS PERHAPS AN APATHY TOWARDS MAKING A CHANGE.”

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