New Zealand Travels (2003-03-08)

Starting to upload some (edited) excerpts from my paper journal.

"It was a grey overcast day in London. Nick and Kathy had agreed to accompnay me to the airport where I was to take flight NZ001 to New Zealand. Why New Zealand? About 10 years ago I had seriously entereatined the idea of emigrating and New Zealand had felt to be the right place for me. Due to my job at the time coming to an end (I had been offered higher pay at another company) I failed to take the 30 days holiday that I had built up over the previous year to allow me to go to NZ. It never seemed to occur to me that I could chuck the job in and leave for NZ on a round the world ticket. This was truly hammered home by virtue of the fact that a work colleague had just bought his ticket and was leaving. I support I was afraid because I had responsibilities (which cannot be written without including the word "ties") to my house (mortgage) and my parents (be successful). So I stayed; got a job that paid more; took on a larger mortgage; better car; got a job that paid more; took on a larger mortgage and so on until it was time for me to halt the process. I saved up enought money so that I could live for 6 months without working or selling the house and decided to leave the rat race in which I had become enmired.

I have not gone to NZ to find myself, I have gone there to explore who I am. I believe that a persons identity, their self, is defined as the sum of their beliefs and their values. Each of these can be changed by an act of will by the person involved. It is entirely up to the indicvidual to decide upon their beliefs and their values. By going to NZ I hope to adjust these beliefs and values into something more in line with my long term goals in life. I may talk more of these in the future."