There are plenty of reasons to feel depressed today: here’s what we must remember - Ryan Bridge

THREE KEY FACTS

• Kiwis are leaving for Australia in record numbers, and life is objectively hard for a lot of New Zealanders right now.
• The weather across the country has been dreadful.
• New Zealanders are a resilient people who have overcome challenges before.

I know it’s a Friday, but there are plenty of reasons to feel depressed today:

1. Kiwis are fleeing across the Tasman like economic refugees in record numbers.

2. The cost of living is stubbornly high. Yes, inflation’s easing. But it’s disinflation, not deflation, which means prices are still going up, just not as fast. Some feel poorer now than when inflation was actually going through the roof.

3. Also, it’s raining. In the North and the top of the South. It keeps raining. Like, when is that going to stop?

If I hear about another tropical river, I’m going to ban Heather Keats from this studio.

4. The Covid-19 inquiry is dredging up the worst of our social divisions.

So what do we do?

Sir Edmund Hillary once said: “Life’s a bit like mountaineering - never look down.”

It’s human nature to focus on the negative. To drown ourselves in our failures.

But we must always remember we’re a country of No 8 wire, of rich cultural history, of world-beating primary industries.

A country of 5 million that feeds 40 million globally.

We are the most friendly and welcoming. We’re surrounded by some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world.

We’ve weathered storms before and survived them. This storm, too, will pass.

This storm, too, will pass, says Ryan Bridge on Herald Now. Photo / Michael Craig

Former prime minister David Lange wanted us to make sure that we were not just a country, but that we were a nation.

And by the way, if this hasn’t worked - and I checked this morning - flights one-way to Brisbane on Saturday are a steal at $279.99.