Context as perspective

This is not primarily to become a serious, serious 4x4 driver! This is just a tool to create the space that I have lost in order to find what is important to me, to re-identify those elements that at a soul level I need in order to feel fulfilled and complete. Unless you are an extremely self aware person or you have already taken the time to work out what you personally need - certainly I find that when life gets busy, and believe me, being a mom and working full time certainly creates an environment with little space for self! I forget what I need to ensure I remain soulfully rich.

There were 2 things that I particularly loved as a child - spending endless hours in the wide open spaces of our neighbourhood; back in the early 70's. Where I grew up there were still lots of fields filled with trees, areas of suburb that had only been laid out with the initial roads being dirt tracks where houses had not been built yet - probably only 20% of the houses existed versus how that suburb is known today. We used to spend hours cycling in these areas just having fun, enjoying the freedom of being on the bike, riding through puddles when it had been raining, eventually only going home because we were either thirsty or hungry.

The other activity that was always a special one, was on the last day of every school holiday I would get on my bike and head off down the main road towards Simonstown on my own, loving the solitude, the wind on my face, the beautiful coastal views & a good day would mean I cycled all the way down to Simonstown where I would then investigate the village & on a bad day (namely the SouthEaster was blowing really hard) I would only get as far as Dalebrook which would mean a couple of hours pottering on a beautiful little beach close to Kalk Bay playing in rock pools & enjoying a swim in the tidal pool.

Whenever I get to a point in my life where I realise that I have lost that connection with myself & I take time to reflect, it is these 2 visions that come back to me & I remember how important time, space & solitude are to me – for me those times were extremely happy times.

So as Lance Armstrong so aptly titled his book “It’s not about the Bike – My Journey Back to Life” (certainly a book well worth reading). It is not about the 4x4 – it is about the journey of self discovery where the vehicle is but a partner & enabler.