Tracey Wakefield

Category: life

  • The Ferry Crossing

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    Tracey Wakefield
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    As I become more comfortable with sharing my voice with the world via my writing, and as I read the political commentary around gangs, I thought it might be time to share something different. This is a small extract of creative writing from an unpublished manuscript I wrote last year. This piece is based on…

  • Poverty & Morality

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    Tracey Wakefield
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    Photo https://elections.nz/ It is getting closer to our general election, which means political parties are releasing their election promises and policies, seeking to grab the attention of voters with offers that will personally benefit them or punish those they do not identify with. Dividing the country into the worthy and unworthy. An interesting time for…

  • The impact we make on the work, and the impact the work makes on us.

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    Tracey Wakefield
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    I have a favourite ‘teacher’ from my counselling training days. I say teacher as I feel he would have felt uncomfortable with the term ‘lecturer’. He talked a lot about dismantling uneven power dynamics. He taught two of my favourite papers, Narrative Therapy and Existentialism. He was also supposed to teach the supervision course I…

  • Less ‘side hustle’, more…

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    Tracey Wakefield
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    Now that I’m running my own business alongside my other job, it was only a matter of time before I was asked if it was my ‘side hustle’. And I wasn’t surprised that I rejected the term and went looking for an alternative. It isn’t an aversion to the concept in totality; it just doesn’t…

  • Closing the door

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    Tracey Wakefield
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    I’m going through an interesting season of my life where some things that were previously very important to me are becoming less important to me, and I have embarked on some new challenges that I had previously been afraid to explore. It has got me thinking about doors, both in a physical and metaphorical sense.…

  • Side Quest

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    Tracey Wakefield
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    I have spent my life learning a very annoying truth: there is so much in life we have no control over. I’m not saying this to absolve myself of responsibility, because the one place where we have the most ability to exercise control is over our own actions. I’m pondering this because I recently made…

  • And Naturally, I Thought: Podcast

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    Tracey Wakefield
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    This week, my brain did the thing it likes to do, jump from random thought to random thought, and landed on an idea for a new project. I have lots of project ideas; occasionally, some stick, but many of them remain in folders on the computer or in bags of craft supplies. I’m hoping this…

  • Welcome, Spring

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    Tracey Wakefield
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    It is the first week of September, which here in Aotearoa means we have officially moved out of winter and into Spring. I woke up this morning with a curious thought: why doesn’t Spring rate highly in my favourite seasons? Especially as I do love magnolias, cherry blossoms and daffodils (in that order). Currently, my…

  • Noticing Joy

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    Tracey Wakefield
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    Recently, almost unknowingly, I assigned myself a homework exercise: to look for and notice when I feel joy. I say ‘almost unknowingly’ because this wasn’t really planned. It wasn’t an instruction I read in a self-help book; it isn’t a 30-day challenge. It has just kind of evolved as I started being kinder to myself…

  • What Would My Childhood Self Think of Who I am Today?

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    Tracey Wakefield
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    Inspiration for these reflections can sometimes come from the strangest places. I have been getting gel manicures on and off for probably about the last 15 years. It is a strategy to curb a very long-standing nail-biting habit and a reminder of how far I have come. I love looking at my healthy, strong nails…