These changing and unprecedented times are affording us to slow down, reconnect, and spend more time in ‘the Space’.

Whilst working from my humble seaside home in the Coromandel I have enjoyed time to exercise more consistently, work more mindfully and connect more deeply.

I have spent time listening to the sparrows in the morning as they awaken in their chosen tree; a wave of twitter as they greet each other. Their return around 6pm marks a cacophony of twittering as they welcome each other home – and quite frankly it sounds like one hell of a party!

I have walked the beach, taking mindful steps as I appreciate the beauty in which I live.

I have sat on my deck in the afternoon sun looking out across the hills as I read or do some mahi.

I have connected daily with my sons (now in their mid 20’s) in their various parts of the world.

When we live busy lives, this time of space can be both a welcome reprieve and also a somewhat scary void.

In this void we can be faced with retrospective thoughts of “should’ve, could’ve or what would’ve”. We can also manifest thoughts into the future “What-if, How might, When will”.

When we invest too much energy in this thinking we lose contact with today. Like time travel, we leave our now-minds and traverse into the past, or try to live into a somewhat unknown future. Whilst these thoughts are natural when managed, they can become unhealthy thinking if we live too much into them.

There is a beautiful saying that comes from the Serenity Prayer by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. It goes something like this: