It was our first pilgrimage. We got professional advice and chose what we thought were the ideal shoes. When we went for practise walks, I got blisters; that was normal for me. We listened to podcasts on blister care and… Read More »A little friction
Te Aroha. In english, it means ‘the love’. It’s a place in New Zealand with hot mineral baths, historically known to be healing waters. A few years ago, I climbed its mountain. Where it was most demanding, I chanted the… Read More »The waters
If you’ve ever watched rugby, you might recognise when the teams form a scrum. The forwards from each team bend down in rows and ram forward, locking heads and shoulders with the forwards from the other team. This is a… Read More »The standoff
As a student I had a particularly odd job for about a week. The local meat works was assessing how strong smells might impact their neighbours. I, along with others, sat in a room with three tubes in front of… Read More »Read the room
Maths is beautiful. Maths is the foundation of good music. Maths is at the heart of the Fibonacci sequence shaping ferns and shells. Maths is important in the design of a building. The ratios need to work. The walls have… Read More »No pressure
“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return”, Nature Boy. Love, it comes up in all sorts of places. Songs express love lost, love found, unrequited love, love that one cannot reciprocate, the… Read More »The great lesson
Imagine tying the reins of your horse to a tree. Okay, back up a little. Imagine that you have a horse and then tie the reins to a tree. Now climb into the saddle and go for a ride. How… Read More »Unleash yourself
There’s a biochemist in our part of the world, Dr Libby. She teaches how different nutrients function in our bodies and how just one deficient nutrient can affect multiple processes. For example, one blog mentions that zinc is “vital in… Read More »Pain is not the bad guy
In 2012 when we got home from four months in Peru, I was at a loose end. My husband went back to work, the kids went back to school, but I had left my job before we went. I knew… Read More »Permission to dream
We were on a bus the other day. The driver started giggling. Over the microphone we heard the reason… “sorry, our driver was on auto pilot and turned toward the airport. Do not worry, she will turn us around and… Read More »Laughter is medicine