Are you ok?
You know that moment.
Someone asks — "Are you OK?" — and your brain knows the honest answer.
And before you can stop it, your eyes fill.
Not because you're weak.
Because someone finally asked.
Because being truly seen — even for just a second — is one of the most overwhelming feelings a human being can experience.
You try to say "yes, I'm fine." But you stumble. Just a little.
That stumble is the truth.
This page is for that moment. You don't have to be fine here. You don't have to perform. You just have to be here.
Alysha Macaulay — Funeral Celebrant, Death Doula & MC 🤍
Some people you meet in the hardest moments of your life.
Alysha Macaulay was there when I said goodbye to a dear friend. As her doula, Alysha held space with a grace and presence I will never forget. She made the unbearable bearable. She made the sacred, sacred.
Alysha is a Funeral Celebrant, Death Doula, MC for all events — and one of the most compassionate humans I have ever met.
"Honoring Life's Moments with Compassion and Care. I'm dedicated to supporting you through life's significant moments. Whether you need a funeral celebrant, an MC for your event, a death doula to provide comfort and care at the end of life, or a facilitator for a pet funeral — I'm here to offer compassionate and professional service."
— Alysha Macaulay
She also hosts Grief on Various Degrees — an honest, courageous conversation about the thing we all carry but rarely talk about.
"My mission is to normalise conversations about death and dying, alleviating fear and anxiety, and empowering individuals to make informed choices."
— Alysha Macaulay
If you're navigating loss, facing end of life — yours or someone you love — or you simply want to feel less alone in it, reach out to Alysha.
🎤 Grief on Various Degrees — Search on Spotify
The reality. 💔
Globally, over 740,000 people die by suicide every year. That is one death every 43 seconds.
Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, approximately 500 people die by suicide every year. Men account for approximately three out of every four of those deaths.
Behind every one of those numbers is a person who needed someone to ask — "Are you OK?" And maybe didn't hear it in time.
Don't be a statistic. Be a beacon of hope instead. 🕯️
You being here — alive, present, still standing — matters more than you will ever know. The world needs your light. Not your silence.
Forgive yourself. Forgive others. The sun will rise in the East. Go seek it. 🌅
Reprogram. 🧠
You can reprogram your brain — one positive thought at a time. Don't waste your life on blame. On shame. On guilt. What's done is done. You cannot change the past. But you can change today.
You are more than a nervous system. You have a spirit that fills up a room. 🔥
Don't you dare dim it.
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't — you're absolutely right."
— Henry Ford
"Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life."
— J.K. Rowling
"It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."
— Sir Edmund Hillary
You are part of EASTERLY now. 🌊
Go take your shoes off. Head to the beach. A forest. Anywhere there is nature. Your ancestors faced more hardships than you can imagine. They survived. They endured. They kept going. And they would tell you — get up. Make a change. Move. 🌊
Your Personal Beacon
In the dark. In the quiet. When the night gets heavy and the thoughts get loud.
Breathe.
In through the nose. Out through the mouth.
Three times. Slow.
Now find a torch.
Three quick flashes.
Again.
Three quick flashes.
Again.
East is always three.
Look East. The sun is rising.
The new day is on its way.
The light always comes back on.
So do you.
Face East
Find East. Use your phone compass if you need to.
Place something there — a stone, a shell, a photo, a candle.
Anything that means something to you.
Face it when the night gets heavy.
The East always brings first light.
It will come for you too.
Pray
However that looks for you.
To whatever you call it.
God. Universe. Nature. The light.
It doesn't matter what you name it.
Just speak into it.
Something is listening.
Call upon your ancestors.
They know this road.
They walked it before you.
And they are closer than you think.
Meditate. Sing. Dance.
Whatever you need to do.
There are no rules here.
No performance. No audience.
Just you and the thing that made you.
Breathe.
That's it. That's all.
That's everything.
You Are Not Alone
If you're wearing EASTERLY tonight and the world feels heavy —
know that it was made with you in mind.
Not the version of you that has it together.
The real one.
The one reading this at whatever hour this is.
You are not alone in it.
Someone made this for you.
And they're glad you're here.
Breathe. 🐚
A Message for Those Navigating the Hardest Kind of Love
EASTERLY is also for the ones navigating the hardest kind of love — the kind that breaks apart and leaves children in the middle.
For the fathers who have fought just to be present. For the mothers carrying wounds that haven't healed yet. For the children who never asked to be caught between the people they love most.
And for the adult children still carrying blame for their parents — it's time to put it down. None of us are perfect. Not one.
Forgive. Move on. Because we are each responsible for our own happiness. Nobody else can carry that for you.
If you have suffered the unimaginable it would help to talk about it, let it out, It could help someone else that has suffered trauma too. turn your pain into wisdom.
EASTERLY is a gentle reminder — heal your own wounds first. Because unhealed pain doesn't just hurt you. It disrupts a child's life. It divides families. It fractures communities.
This is not a judgement. It is an invitation.
No matter how hurt you were. No matter how terrible it was. At some point — you have to let it go.
We create neural pathways in our brains. The more you dwell on something, the more ingrained it gets. So create another path. Walk it. Walk it again. Walk it until it becomes the road.
The human body is incredible. And so is the human mind.
If you focus on lack and scarcity — you attract more of it. If you focus on abundance and gratitude — your life will change.
EASTERLY is for the brave. The warriors. The world changers.
Heal. For them. For you. For the community that needs you whole.
A Gentle Note on Behaviour
Sometimes people do silly things to get attention — even as adults. They snap. They make underhand remarks. They push away the very people they need most.
It's not always malice. Often it's the inner child — still living deep within the brain's memory — crying out in the only language it learned.
If this resonates — acknowledge it. That takes courage.
But please — don't be a nuisance to the people you love just because you haven't yet worked on what you're carrying. Whether it's serious or mild, old or new — it belongs to you. Not to them.
Take accountability for your part. As hard as that is.
That's not weakness. That's the bravest thing a grown person can do.
Breathe. And begin again.
It simply boils down to "Don't be an arsehole." 🌊
A Note on Truth
Don't always believe what you hear.
If something concerns you — and it's your business to know — seek all sides of the situation. Every single one. Don't let your bias be the compass. It will mislead you every. single. time.
Get the facts.
It will save you unnecessary time, money, and heartache. And it will save someone else from being judged on a version of events that was never the whole story.
The truth is rarely loud. But it is always there.
Look for it.
🇳🇿🆘 If you need someone right now — Aotearoa New Zealand
Wherever you are in Aotearoa — help is here. You are not alone.
1737 — Call or text. Free. 24/7. Always.
Lifeline — 0800 543 354 — Crisis support, anytime
Suicide Crisis Helpline — 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)
Samaritans — 0800 726 666 — Someone to talk to, no judgement
Depression Helpline — 0800 111 757 — Free, 24/7
Anxiety NZ — 0800 269 4389
Healthline — 0800 611 116 — Free, 24/7
Youthline — 0800 376 633 — Text 234, free
What's Up — 0800 942 8787 — For under 18s
Women's Refuge — 0800 733 843
OUTLine NZ — 0800 688 5463 — LGBTQ+ support
MoneyTalks — 0800 345 123 — Financial hardship support
Alcohol Drug Helpline — 0800 787 797
Mentalhood NZ — mentalhood.co.nz
Man Up NZ — manup.org.nz
Are You OK? — areyouok.org.nz
Grief Centre NZ — griefcentre.org.nz
Skylight NZ — skylight.org.nz
Seasons for Growth NZ — seasonsforgrowth.co.nz
🌍 If you need someone right now — Worldwide
Wherever you are in the world — help is available. You are not alone.
🇦🇺 Australia
Lifeline — 13 11 14 — 24/7 crisis support
Beyond Blue — 1300 22 4636 — Anxiety, depression, suicide
Kids Helpline — 1800 55 1800 — For young people
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Samaritans — 116 123 — Free, 24/7
CALM — 0800 58 58 58 — For men
Mind — 0300 123 3393
🇺🇸 United States
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — Call or text 988 — Free, 24/7
Crisis Text Line — Text HOME to 741741
NAMI Helpline — 1800 950 6264
🇨🇦 Canada
Talk Suicide Canada — 1833 456 4566 — 24/7
Crisis Text Line — Text HOME to 686868
🇮🇪 Ireland
Samaritans — 116 123 — Free, 24/7
Pieta — 1800 247 247 — Suicide and self-harm crisis
🇿🇦 South Africa
SADAG — 0800 456 789 — 24/7 mental health support
🇮🇳 India
iCall — 9152987821
Vandrevala Foundation — 1860 2662 345 — 24/7
🇯🇵 Japan
Inochi no Denwa — 0120 783 556 — 24/7
🇩🇪 Germany
Telefonseelsorge — 0800 111 0 111 — Free, 24/7
For any country not listed — visit befrienders.org to find your local crisis line.
📚 Books that could change your life
Self-Love & Healing
Louise Hay — You Can Heal Your Life
Dr Wayne Dyer — Your Erroneous Zones
Dr Wayne Dyer — The Power of Intention
Dr Wayne Dyer — You'll See It When You Believe It
Purpose & Meaning
Viktor Frankl — Man's Search for Meaning
Paulo Coelho — The Alchemist
Nature & Wisdom
Robin Wall Kimmerer — Braiding Sweetgrass 🌿
Mental Toughness
David Goggins — Can't Hurt Me 🔥
"If" 💙
By Rudyard Kipling (1910)
If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating, and yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; if you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it — and which is more — you'll be a Man, my son!
You are not alone here. 💙
Island steady. World ready. 🌊 Just breathe.
💙 Share something with the tribe
Has a book changed your life? Do you have a quote that pulls you through the hard days? A song, a poem, a piece of wisdom you wish someone had shared with you sooner?
We'd love to hear it. Send it to us and we'll add it to this page — so it can reach the next person who needs it.
Email us: hello@easterly.kiwi
No contribution is too small. One sentence could change someone's day.
The tribe is listening. 🐚