- Reggie Watts

reflections

大家好, greetings everyone.

We are a week into the new Lunar Year, and the shift is palpable. According to Chinese astrology, the energies ahead are catalytic, passionate, and dynamic. The Year of the Wood Snake has shed its skin, and we are now galloping into the Year of the Fire Horse.

I am entering this year with a heart of gratitude and a legacy to honour. Recently, my 姑姨 aunt Stella passed away unexpectedly. Looking back at her life, I realised that over forty years ago, she and my late uncle Clarence were the ones who suggested my parents to apply for a green card to migrate to the United States. That one invitation was a generational systems change sparked by a single seed planting.

Stella was a devoted subscriber to this very newsletter. For years, she responded to almost every edition I sent out - simple, beautiful acknowledgments like 'nice to hear what you are up to' or 'good to hear you are healthy.' Aside from my mother, no one ranked higher in readership engagement. I sincerely appreciated her interest and the time she invested in me over the decades, even when there were gaps in our physical visits. I will miss her dearly, and carry her spirit of encouragement into this new chapter. 🙏🏽

Speaking of new chapter, I reached the big 4-0 a few weeks ago. A big gift even before my birthday was being invited to travel and film for a project all around Te Waipounamu South Island and even got to tour Rakiura Stewart Island for a moment! I celebrated being alive with Jen and dear friends in the ngahere (forest) of the Southern Alps, spending a weekend among the quiet, powerful maunga (mountain) and awa (river). I stood in the awa as these reminders came through: health is not separate from work; work is not separate from play; play is not separate from community. Every 'thing' is a thread in the same tapestry. When you pull one strand, much like poking the edge of a spider web, the whole thing vibrates. I held the grief of loss at the same time cherished the joy of health, happiness, and love emanating from the land and my tribe. 🕸

Reflecting on my younger self from the vantage point of 40, I see how certain patterns have formed. Whether I was on a 5,000 km solo bicycle journey or co-creating in Nepal with Conscious Impact, I was driven by a raw curiosity for how I could be of service while playing with cameras and climbing mountains. Today, I am still that same explorer, just with better boots and sharper lenses. The grit of my 20's and 30's has matured into intention. With 20 years of visual storytelling under my belt, the formula hasn't changed radically, but the depth and presence have.

To make room for the Fire Horse energy, I am becoming a conscious gardener of my own internal forest. When a big tree falls, it creates a gap in the canopy that allows light to hit the floor, giving smaller plants a chance to grow. I have spent much of the past two years trimming the bits of my life that no longer serve me. I am saying no to 'non-hell-yesattention' offers, charging my worth, and protecting my attention more than ever.

I have even renewed my lease! For an ex-nomad, this is a profound 'yes' to grounding here in Ōtautahi Christchurch. This commitment to home - within myself, with Jen, and this community - is precisely what provides the stable soil I need to grow. It is from this grounded place that I am now ready to gallop with others. 🐎

aI am calling in a new level of collaboration this year. While the solo creative life has been a real gift, I am hungry to join a herd again. I am ready to bring my ‘Arranger’ and ‘Connectedness’ strengths to a high-impact team where we can produce storytelling that (re)ignites the fire of optimism and passion. I am looking to move toward the intersection of visual craft, systems thinking, and deep equity. Whether it is part-time or a full-time 'hell yes' invitation, I am ready to bring my lived experience to a collective table.

If you want an auditory snapshot of how I got here, I was recently interviewed for the Ōtautahi in Practice podcast. It was a grand opportunity to share my musings past and present. I have also been publishing more on LinkedIn lately, focusing on my strengths and learningsand applications of te ao Māori (Māori worldview) frameworks. Side note: LinkedIn is not a platform I thought I would reactivate, but I have to give credit (as well as blame 😉) to my beloved Jen Stevie for propelling me back into that digital town square. It has already opened doors to new professional connections and rekindled old ones.

Let us take the lessons of the snake - the shedding and the introspection - and upcycle them into fuel for the horse. The summer rains we have been receiving in Aotearoa New Zealand feel like a ritual cleansing for fresh beginnings. 🔥

May your transition be kind to you, and may you settle into a season of health, prosperity, and vitality. 新年快樂!

original creations

The shares on this edition are a bit different than usual - a podcast where I got interviewed (roles reversed!), and 2 pieces of writing:

1. ​On Inner Work & Systems​
   ​Why our inner healing is the silent engine behind the way we design our workplaces and communities.
2. ​On Bridging Worlds & Stewardship​:
   ​Moving beyond binary thinking and finding the 'gold' when we bridge ancient ritual, modern tech, and environmental stewardship.

When I got interviewed by Sam Woolf and Erica Austin from Ako Ōtautahi Learning City Christchurch in November 2025 for their podcast, Ōtautahi in Practice, I thought then to simultaneously record a live video for my amazing patreon supporters.

Now that the podcast is live, it's time to share it with you all - enjoy!

Listen on: Plains Media | Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Podcast Addict | Castbox | Podbean ​
​Not linking Spotify due to this. I've boycotted them since last year.

global good news

The world’s strains are real, but the Fire Horse arrives to remind us that heat can also be fuel. Standing in the awa (river) this month, I was reminded that progress is rarely a breakthrough - it is a persistence. Just as one small invitation in my family’s past sparked a generational shift, our daily focus on what is 'good' creates a catalytic ripple. This year, we trade outrage for agency. Let us use this dynamic energy to gallop toward the world we wish to inhabit together.

• Ocean protection rose to 9.6% of global waters in 2025, a 1.2-point increase driven by some very large designations. The biggest moves came from French Polynesia’s planned 4.8 million km² reserve, Samoa’s nine new MPAs covering 30% of its ocean, and new protections in the Philippines, Pakistan and the Marshall Islands. Mongabay News​
• Iraq has emerged from two decades of conflict into a more stable phase, with poverty falling to 17.5% and security improvements enabling about five million internally displaced people to return home. Recent parliamentary elections saw a 56% turnout, up 12 points on the previous vote, and a third of the candidates were women. UN News​
• The US Senate has also rejected Trump’s proposed $1 billion cut to National Park Service funding, instead advancing a bipartisan bill that includes provisions to retain and rehire staff, require congressional notice of any mass firings, and protect conservation and maintenance funding.
• France’s ban on forever chemicals enters into force. The new law, approved by lawmakers in February 2025, bans the production, import or sale of any product for which an alternative to PFAS already exists, including in cosmetics, clothing and ski wax. France 24​
• Chile moves to lock in a 2,800km Patagonia wildlife corridor. Chile is preparing to designate Cape Froward as a national park, protecting about 2,000km² of remote Patagonian coastline, forests and carbon-rich peatlands. The Guardian​
• For the first time since October 2023, aid partners in Gaza now hold enough food to meet 100% of minimum caloric needs. That compares with late 2025, when families received just 50–75% of required calories. Access, security and the risk of Israel suspending NGO operations mean the gains remain fragile. UN News​
• Solar overtakes nuclear in clean power race. Global nuclear generation held a narrow lead over wind and solar combined in full-year 2025, at about 9% of electricity. With wind already level and solar still accelerating, 2026 is likely to push nuclear into third place among clean sources, marking a structural shift from thermal baseload to variable renewables. Liebreich​
• US cities where murder rates fell to all-time lows in 2025San Francisco / Detroit / Baltimore / Chicago / Philadelphia / Oakland / Fresno / Modesto / Newark / Bridgeport / Providence / Richmond​
• New Zealand’s critically endangered kākāpō have begun breeding for the first time since 2022, triggered by a ‘mega-mast’ fruiting of native rimu trees that provides the energy needed to raise chicks.
• Global tiger numbers have risen from 3,200 in 2010 to 5,574 by 2023, with Thailand now supporting up to 223 tigers after two decades of protection.
• In India’s Assam state, no rhinos were poached in 2025, only the second such year since records began.
• The rollout of the malaria vaccine has begun to shift outcomes in some of the world’s hardest-hit places. Since 2022, Malawi has embedded the malaria vaccine into routine immunisation across 11 districts, pairing delivery with community training. UNICEF​
• Malawi’s newly-elected president, 85-year-old Peter Mutharika, has scrapped almost all school fees nationwide, delivering on his campaign promise to make public education free at primary and secondary level from 2026.
• Norway will not issue licenses for deep-sea mining during the current parliamentary term, freezing plans to open Arctic waters to seabed extraction until at least 2029. Euronews​
• Brazil commits to conserving 80% of the Amazon by 2030. Carbon Brief Deforestation in the Amazon is down to its lowest level since 2014. At COP30, President Lula recognised 24,500 km² of Indigenous territories, with another 45,000 km² in the pipeline; funders pledged $1.8 billion for land rights and $100 million for wildfire prevention. Context​
• Australia’s clean energy transition is going better than almost anyone realises. In the last quarter of 2025 renewables supplied a record 51% of the country’s electricity, with wind, solar and batteries each at all-time highs. AEMO​
• Cycling surges in the world’s most iconic cities. Bikes and e-bikes are reshaping urban transport faster than autonomous taxis. In London cyclists now outnumber cars in the financial district by two to one. In Paris, they now outnumber motorists across the whole city. Even in Beijing the number of cyclists is rising again as cities reallocate street space.
• Coral rehabilitation efforts are buying the Great Barrier Reef more time. Australia’s Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program, launched in 2018 and backed by nearly $300 million, now spans 300+ scientists across 20+ institutions, collecting coral spawn at sea and breeding heat-tolerant corals in a giant lab. Vox​
• India has expanded rural tap water access from 16.7% of the population in 2019 to 81% in 2026, connecting 125 million rural households to clean, running water. In sheer numbers, this is the biggest, fastest, and most important sanitation drive in human history. PIB Delhi​
• Toronto’s Don River was declared “biologically dead” decades ago — now fish are returning after a major wetland restoration. Monitoring in 2025 recorded more than 20 fish species in Toronto’s Don River. The rebound follows a C$1 billion renaturalisation that rebuilt wetlands, reshaped the river’s course, and restored spawning habitat. National Observer​
• Armenia is building a universal health care system. Mandatory health insurance started on 1st January 2026, rolling out over three years, with a single national benefits package. The state will fully cover minors, senior citizens and several vulnerable groups, with the first phase aiming to reach 1.6 million people. OC Media​

Still want MORE GOODNESS?!

Here are 99 Stories of Progress from the Year of the Wood Snake, thanks to the team behind Fix The News (FTN). There is so much to celebrate as humanity and as one planet despite the gloom & doom we've fed or shown in much of mainstream media. Part of your patreon support goes not only to compile this newsletter, but also to FTN in spreading the goodness to the world. LOVE what they've been doing!

personal recommendations

Hand-picked gems from the internet that have inspired and/or informed me.

Book: Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach (1970)
A fable on mastering craft and transcending limits - the story that helped inspire my name.

Video: How I trained my mind to create instead of consume by Josh Czuba
A call to reclaim attention from digital distraction and rediscover the intrinsic joy of making.

Podcast: Wawira Njiru - Engine of Potential on Hope is a Verb
An inspiring look at how radical local action can nourish human potential and drive systemic change.

Music: Thai Psychedelic Techno like you've never heard before by The Hymmapan Electron

Bonus: my organisation recently hosted a gathering "An economic system for the public good" in partnership with WEAll Aotearoa for folks to learn and envision what economic equity could look and be shaped like in Aoteaora NZ (and the world).

gratitude

To those of you new here - 歡迎! Nau mai, kia ora! Welcome.

Aunt Stella’s simple replies over the years taught me that the act of witnessing one another is a profound gift. Your time and attention are invaluable, and I hope this space offers you a moment of genuine connection. This newsletter is a labour of love - a way to (re)ignite optimism and bypass the algorithms for a direct, human conversation.

I am so grateful to the friends and supporters across the globe who reshare my creations, refer this newsletter and my visual storytelling services to their mates, or support me on Patreon. It is where I also post supporter-only content. This project has been community-funded since 2018, and your contributions are the fuel that keeps this horse galloping. 🐎 If you feel moved to support the Wilderness Within podcast and my other spontaneous projects, you can join the herd by becoming a patron here. When else do I get to pile on all of these horseplay puns?! 🤣

It is a privilege to share this journey with you from my home in beautiful Aotearoa.

多謝你, 新年快樂 Thank you, and happy new year Reader!

Kai J.