The same simple walk each day offers me something different.

When I came to Whanganui I struggled for a while to adjust to less variety and options of choices where I might walk. There are certainly beautiful spots around, but not the degree of choice I was used to.

Now, through the last five and a bit years I’ve been here, I’ve found so much joy through learning to recognise and receive the depth of variety available within simplicity.

The same simple walk each day offers me something different. The different seasons offer their own array, different days, weather and light, different people I meet, and their dogs, the movement of the trees, wind and water, the birds singing and dancing around me, the way my dog plays and sniffs and enjoys. Everyday is fresh and new for him too.

I think one of the things I value the most now, is the strong relationship I have formed with my neighbourhood through this daily connection. I feel this place. I notice each of her precious gifts with so much more reverence and appreciation.

Variety may be the spice of life, but deepening into simplicity, I am learning, is definitely where true joy lies.