WHY do I love where I live?

If ever I needed a reminder of why I love where I live, this weekend  HAS been it.

It’s so easy to miss the obvious because our eyes don’t always see what’s right beneath our noses!  

I love my little bay ... it’s gloriously beautiful ... both in the sunshine and in the rain.  

This little spot in the world makes my pulse race every morning as I head down to the waves.  I have no idea who or what I’m going to be exposed to each day but I know it’ll touch my soul and ignite my fire.

This little village has it all.

It’s not JUST a beautiful spot to live in but it’s filled with beautiful people too.  

Beautiful on the inside as well as the outside.  

Sure, we have GOM and his cronies in our village but every village in the world has it’s fair share of sour-minded individuals.  

It’s  the non-GOMs though that make this village such a special place to live.

It’s a community that cares.  

It’s a community that knows WHO you are.

That can have it's downside too!

They also know what time you usually ramble and are quick to notice when a Saturday morning ramble is later than usual!

The significant other remarked on our way home from rambling that it’s becoming difficult to ramble or even walk through the village WITHOUT one pause or another to pass the time of day with a familiar face. 

That’s what belonging is all about!

I love that so many faces are now recognisable.  

I love that I FEEL this sense of belonging.

For this moment in time, for however long it might last, THIS is my home.

No matter the difficulties we still face, the mountains still to clime ... they’re all made more manageable, more tolerable by the very essence of our surroundings and those that inhabit them.

Let me NEVER take it forgranted.

Whilst throwing the hound’s ball off the rocks at the end of the beach, we were approached by an Asian gentleman.  He told us that he and his wife video their rambles and post them on Vimmeo.  His latest one called “Morning in St. Heliers Bay – Auckland Summer, 2013" includes footage of the hounds retrieving their log.  The video is 11 minutes long but it’s an awesome capture of everything we see on our daily rambles.

If you have the time to watch it you’ll understand why I love this little spot in the world so much!