Each day on The Great New Zealand Road Trip, Shayne Currie catches up with a noteworthy New Zealander, measuring their mood and hopes for the country. Today, we hear from Newstalk ZB radio host Matt Heath.
What’s the one word to sum up your mood right now?
Shagged - just been at the gym.
What do you wish people knew about where you live?
I am originally from Dunedin, which is a great place, but down there, we think Auckland is a hellhole of traffic, crime, and arrogance. But no. Auckland is mostly a beautiful green place. Lots of trees, stunning volcanoes and mostly friendly people. They are right about the rain. Also, everyone I have ever met who lives near Eden Park wants more concerts.
What are your passions?
Movies, music, sports, and my dog Colin. I enjoy reading, listening to and writing about history and philosophy. Big fan of my kids. I love broadcasting.
Which New Zealander (alive or dead) do you most admire – and why?
The World War II plastic surgeon Archibald Hector McIndoe who treated Royal Air Force airmen with serious facial burns. McIndoe not only made huge strides in plastic surgery but also implemented some highly successful psychological innovations.
He encouraged the burnt men in his care to integrate into society as soon as they possibly could. He would take them to bars and social gatherings to get them used to how people reacted to their injuries. He wanted them to choose to be proud of who they were, wherever they were, no matter how they looked to others or what people said.
Many people finding themselves in that condition would have hidden away from the world, but most of these men, in no small part thanks to the work of McIndoe, went out and met new people, got married and had families.
They formed the Guinea Pig Club and met up and celebrated each other and the work of the great New Zealander McIndoe for the rest of their lives. There is a great doco on YouTube about the man and talk of a feature film. That great New Zealander changed so many unfortunate people’s lives for the better, mentally, and physically.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Every year since our kids were little, we have watched the movie Elf together as a family on Christmas Eve. That is probably the closest I get to perfect happiness. That and the drugs they put me on for a recent colonoscopy.
What is your greatest fear?
I was scared of sharks. Then I went swimming with a bunch of them. Now, they just seem like big fish to me. There is a lesson in there somewhere.
What is it that you most dislike?
I hate whingeing or blaming other people for the situations I find myself in. Complaining is lame and weak, and I dislike myself when I do it. I was doing it yesterday on my radio show. Lame.
What is on your bucket list?
I would like to visit the Statue of Marcus Aurelius on Capitoline Hill, Rome, and its actual version is in the Capitoline Museum. It was erected in 175 AD. I read something from his Meditations most days, so being near a statue created by someone who had spent time with Aurelius would be very cool. I’d also like to see the Warriors win a grand Final.
What do you hope/think NZ will look like in 10 years?
I was talking to an Uber driver who moved here 12 years ago from Afghanistan. He had tragically lost two brothers in conflict over there. He thought New Zealand was a great place to live. He said he felt very lucky to be here. He also thought New Zealanders had no idea how good we have it.
We should keep that in mind. New Zealand is still a better place to live than nearly any other place on earth. But we also need to keep in mind that everything gets harder and more horrible when your country loses its way, wastes its potential and gets poorer.
So I hope it is the case in 10 years that we still have reason to ‘not know how lucky we are’.
Since being asked this question a week ago, I have been trying to think about what we can do individually to make that happen. The one thing I came up with is as cliched as it is naive.
I think we need to refocus on celebrating excellence. If we aim for excellence in whatever we are doing while going out of our way to celebrate and nurture excellence in others - things are bound to get better.
Achievements in all things, in ourselves, our families, our workplaces, neighbourhoods, communities, and the entire country. Business, agriculture, education, art, our health, our communication, parenting, our behaviour, charity and friendships.
If a lot of us aim for this in as many interactions as we can, both in person and digitally, then in 10 years, things will likely be better than they are now.
Obviously, not everyone will get on board but if I do it and you do it and some others do it - that’s a start.
At the very least, it will increase our personal positivity and sense of purpose.
I know this idea sounds a lot like ‘Be Excellent To Each Other’ from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but it’s more like ‘Encourage Excellence in All Things’, which is not quite as catchy.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor.
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