Well - as much as I probably should have blogged about our time in New Zealand, I clearly have not. I've tried to journal daily but have refrained from posting it as I want to weave pictures with my words and maybe post it at a later time. There is only so much time a person has in a day and my focus for this sabbatical was to lead a more balanced life with friends, family & work. I think I've done very well in that regard. Yes there have been a few busy moments such as teaching at Capernwray, and a few busy spots of instructing at Totara Springs, but for the most part there has been a good flow to life.
Flow - I love that word. It connects with me in so many different ways. When we talk about flow in mountain-biking - we are referring to how well a trail rides. Is there a balance of up, down, left, right as you ride. I was mountain-biking yesterday in a place called Rotorua famous for its thermal park but we instead went up a nearby mountain filled with giant redwood trees and world-class mountain bike trails. Some of the trails really had a perfect flow - it helps when the trail is mainly downhill but it is simply bliss to get into the rhythm of a trail and enjoy the kms fly by.
Interestingly, the final trail we enjoyed did not have a good flow but it was an incredible workout. What threw off the flow? For one, lots of climbing and steep climbing, the descents were quite difficult as well - with nice little jumps to get air off of, but there was no real transition between the climbs & descents. If life is just up & down and now in between times - it makes for a very tiring journey! We need regular life. This connects with our spiritual journeys as well. If life is this chase of mountain top experiences with God versus incredible lows of separation from Him - we lose the intimacy that can be developed in the in-between times.
Getting back to our time in New Zealand - it has been amazing for our family to experience this journey together. So amazing mountain tops, some struggling times as well, but for the most part we've been enjoying life in the everyday. In other words, most of our time was not living life as tourists but trying to get into the here & now of culture here. Being a tourist is too tiring for an extended period of time anyway. There is a limit of how far one wants to drive in a week - especially with kids.
So many highlights of visiting inspiring places, places of beauty & awe, but what we will miss the most will be the relationships, the people we've come to know here. We are looking forward to our next 3 week adventure in Australia, another 2 weeks on the south island (where we get to be tourists once again), and I do think we are at the point of really looking forward to going home to Canada. May long weekend will be a celebration for us.
