BUBBLE WRAP

It’s the final day of New Zealand’s LEVEL 4 isolation LOCKDOWN…
After 33 days in this ‘LEVEL 4 bubble’, it’s almost time to ‘wrap it up’.
- our new level 3 bubble ‘the recovery room’, will finally give me the option to go back to the beach!
We will still practice social distancing as a nation.

“Activities must be safe” – I will make sure to keep 2 metres away
from anybody not in my level 3 bubble – I will stay ‘exclusive’!

As a writer and an artist, who has battled with social anxiety for quite some time, the beaches, parks, gardens, and stunning mountain of Taranaki have given me inspiration on a daily basis. Over the years I have found that art as a therapy can be so valuable in navigating the path of anxiety. It has allowed me to express myself nonverbally, moving away from personal thoughts in order to see a more visual expression of any given situation. This act of creative expression connected me as an artist with my inner sense of vitality and replenished my soul. Even though I often preferred the safety of our home and my creative space, it has been important to spend that time in nature to re-energise. Just picking up rocks on the beach, finding that piece of driftwood or taking a photo of a sunrise above the cliffs of Taranaki made life a bit easier.

Throughout my life it has been my goal to publish my first novel, having been passionate about writing since I was quite young, creating my own comic book stories and capturing my inner thoughts through journal entries and other forms of art. I went from writing for school newspapers to ACTUAL newspapers, later on in life. One other thing that has always helped me throughout my life is creating doodles!

With the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, the restrictions on not being able to visit the local beaches and parks put a further strain on my mental health. It had been hard enough to build up my confidence towards releasing myfirst novel ‘Cul-de-Shock’ earlier in the 2020, but after receiving positive feedback and reviews, I decided to use this time during this lockdown more productively and get started on my second book in the Tarquin ‘SHOCK-trilogy’.  I can proudly say that my second novel is now in the editing stages, before being released soon on Amazon both in print and eBook format.

COVIDIOTIQ - DOWN UNDER LOCKDOWN:
Dealing with Anxiety in my 2020 bubble.

Alongside this novel, I decided to also write a poetry eBook "COVIDIOTIQ"; a selection of poems, plus three short stories, which I wrote during the lockdown as a way of coping with my feelings. I have dedicated it to all the people who stayed in their bubbles and saved their world and ours, as well as all the essential workers that worked tirelessly to keep us alive. It’s now available on Amazon to download. I have put it on at the lowest price they would allow, so it can be available to as many people as possible.

Here’s one of the poems from my latest eBook:

We are all in this together
No one less, or no one better
No one happier or sadder
Not much saner or any madder
All of us on an island, small
Only Together or, not at all

We are all whanau, friends or mates
No matter how entangled are our fates
How opposite some souls might seem
We're all part of the same team
So, as in sport, support your nation
While we slowly crawl from isolation.