23/02/2026
Grief is a really strange thing. Last week I was in Gisborne for the funeral of a truly good man - a father, a grandfather, the kind of person who leaves a proper dent when he goes.
The day after I found out he’d passed, I glanced at my phone. 11:11. The next day - 11:11 again. Then, after a day in between - 11:11.
I know some people roll their eyes at that sort of thing, but essentially the “angel number” idea is that 11:11 is a sign you’re being looked after, that you’re not alone.
And I’m not here to get woo-woo about it, but in moments of loss, even the smallest sense that there might be something bigger than us is comforting. And comfort matters.
Yesterday morning I was in the garden early (with three dogs!). Sun about to rise from behind the hills - A Kings of Leon song came on in my AirPods. The same one that played at my cousin’s funeral six months ago, also in Gisborne. As it started, the sun broke through the clouds and hit my back so strongly I actually stood up and turned around.
I closed my eyes and just stood there in it.
It felt grounding.
Healing.
Maybe these things are coincidences. Maybe they’re not. Either way, they gave me a real, genuine sense of peace.
If I could bottle that feeling, the deep exhale, that heat spreading through your chest - I absolutely would. Especially because that’s the feeling i aim to evoke with the Calm inhaler. Not magic or big sensational claims, just a small, steady moment when life feels heavy 🥰
