It struck me the other day that I often travel at the speed of blurred vision. Backgrounds merge, the edges of people and buildings are no longer defined and even the soundscape seems to fold into itself and becomes a single hum.

I’ve lived in Manly for one year and I’m quite certain there are very few shopfronts, pedestrians and trees that I’ve seen fully along the main roadway into the CBD. So, I decided to shift my perspective. I needed to be in Mosman and took public transport instead of my zippy two wheels. This afforded me the chance to walk the length of the 8kms back home to Manly. My walking pace was intentionally slow and leisurely. People, buildings, flowers and animals all came into sharp focus. I discovered a newly coveted bookstore, a stretch of sidewalk that’s given way to massive tree roots and a little botanical garden hidden away behind a hill.

If too much of life is passing by in a blur, perhaps challenge yourself to slow your pace, adjust your focus and maybe even stumble across a new place of JOY.