EDITOR’S LETTER
Kate issues a challenge
WHAT IS THE essence of a life well lived? It’s a question we often ponder. The talented folk working with us at NZ Life & Leisure include writers and photographers who are our eyes and ears. They are freelancers working remotely, often tucked away in the family living room writing stories at night, transcribing interviews and tracking down the country’s most interesting folk to feature in each issue. They do this while rearing families, running businesses and working on the farm. They come in all forms: older, younger, men, women, rural people and city dwellers.
What we share, as do the people we feature, is a commitment to make New Zealand as good as possible. Our goal is to enhance the fortunes of NZ Inc by highlighting people-friendly and environment-friendly boutique businesses, be they in horticulture, food, tourism, technology or the arts. Is it much too grand a vision for a bunch of creatives — wanting to change the country? Who do we think we are, huh?
But we say, why not? The courage and the vision of the people about whom we write inspires us. We have proved year-in and year- out that NZ Life & Leisure does cause change. It makes people do things; they move from one end of the country to the other as a result of reading it. They start businesses, take up hobbies and change careers.
We know because they write to us and say, “It is your fault I am doing such and such, but I love it and thank you.” Our letters pages often feature such stories of the brave new worlds embraced by readers. Do write to us if you have changed your life as a result of something you’ve read in the magazine, or someone you’ve “met”. We love your feedback and publish the most interesting letters. We even send a prize to the writers (what’s wrong with a bit of bribery?). So don’t be shy.
The next edition in our collector’s series In Your Backyard is dedicated to living a life with the lightest footprint possible. This is an almost universal goal of our times, is it not? Called Living Lightly, it is a beautiful guide to reducing our toll on the environment while maintaining a quality life. Editor Emma Rawson has researched the topic for a year now and, as an inner- city dweller in a 72-squaremetre house, she’s walking the talk.
She grows much of her food, barters and shares what’s spare and consciously downsizes. She even has me watching Marie Kondo’s regime of household decluttering on Netflix, and that is quite some challenge. I am not yet up to sitting on my living room floor each morning thanking the house for providing me with shelter, but I am definitely up for showing appreciation to the planet every day for being a most beautiful, glorious, blueand-white miracle orb.