understanding patterns; connecting dots

We formulated our yurting (nomadic lifestyle) mantra with our kids to remind us of some important values when we were living in the van. The last line, 'what happens happens' was meant to protect us from the fantasy that life would always be enjoyable and convenient when on the road; in other words, it anticipated unexpected and unwanted circumstances. I have been thinking about that this week, but from the vantage point of life being extraordinarily good in the middle of a pandemic. How did it get to this? As has been our custom now for more than a decade, we had planned to spend a couple of months in northern NSW and on the Sunny Coast this winter. The difference this year was that Johanna was expecting a baby mid July, so we were eager to hang around a bit longer than usual. As it turned out, our first grandchild, Willow Iris, was born 6 weeks prem' in early June, so we left Melbourne a few weeks earlier than we expected. We were not to know of the restrictions associate...

Under normal circumstances the prospect of spending a few months in Brunswick Heads would be super good. I've written before about how much I love this village. In reality, this time it is full of weirdness knowing what is happening in Melbourne and Geelong. But curiously, there is one thing about this place that is less than ideal ... Being in the ocean is one of the centring joys of my life. Notwithstanding the prevalence of rips on ocean beaches, many of the beaches that I have access to can be enjoyed safely with common sense and reasonable water skills. There are exceptions. The wild beaches on the west coast of Tassie are mostly best enjoyed from the coast line. And this little piece of paradise the top end of the big sweep of beach adjacent to Cape Byron is similarly deserving of much respect. Unlike many east coast beaches, there are troughs and trenches all along the beach that mean the ocean swells break a long way out and is almost always really heavy. I still jump in th...