About — Hiraeth

My name is Rhod, and my mission is to empower the living – and the dying – as we navigate life and prepare for death.

I grew up in Wales, where my parents managed an activity centre, so I spent a lot of my time outdoors. If I wasn’t hiking, I was windsurfing, climbing, or finding other ways to be immersed in what I’ve always seen as a miraculous, beautiful world (that seems to never give me enough time to explore it!).

I travelled around the world in my early twenties, and later found myself back in Aotearoa in the winter of 2017. I met my partner at the time a couple of years later who unfortunately lost her mum to cancer. It was a battle. It was a very challenging year.

However, amidst the stress, pain, guilt and heartache over that time, I also witnessed, and felt, some of the strongest love and connection I’ve ever experienced. Death… has a funny way of bringing the light of life into the world.

I found myself surprisingly at ease with what had always been an uncomfortable reality – death – and found a natural rhythm and purpose as I supported their family with cups of tea, doing dishes but ultimately, being up close and personal with death – albeit on the outskirts.

I trained to become a Non-Medical End of Life Carer in 2022 and embarked on my own journey to Hiraeth because unfortunately, I feel many of us in the West have forgotten our place within nature. It’s common for us to avoid discussing death, for fear of what talking about it may bring.

In fact, along this journey of reflection on death and recognising our place in nature and connecting with our human-ness through presence it has become clearer to me that wisdom cultures practised and taught this approach for centuries Throughout my personal life, whenever things have been challenging – my first port of call has been nature. Anything to help me recognise that I am part of something bigger than myself is what has helped me through.

Now, I want to bring what is essentially my ancestors wisdom, and their understanding of Hiraeth, to those that will find value in it.

I (and countless indigenous cultures) believe that death is an important, sacred passage. How we prepare for death in life is the key.

Living a life of presence and awareness allows us to be present and aware for our loved ones at the end of their lives, so that we can truly be there and show up for them.

Beyond that – being present in our own lives can help us navigate the pain of the death of a loved one, and to be present for ourselves when our own time one day comes.

I work with nature to show us our nature.

Hireath is not only a toolkit to navigate death and dying. It can be applied to live a deep, rich and connected life.

My name is Rhod, and my mission is to empower the living – and the dying – as we navigate life and prepare for death.

I travelled around the world in my early twenties, and later found myself back in Aotearoa in the winter of 2017. I met my partner at the time a couple of years later who unfortunately lost her mum to cancer. It was a battle. It was a very challenging year.

However, amidst the stress, pain, guilt and heartache over that time, I also witnessed, and felt, some of the strongest love and connection I’ve ever experienced. Death… has a funny way of bringing the light of life into the world.

“We are all walking each other home”

– Ram Dass

Qualifications:

HIRAETH