Peace doesn’t always arrive in stillness.
Sometimes it’s found in steady footsteps,
on a trail that winds through gum and wattle,
hours into a bushwalk when the body is moving
but the mind is clear and alert.
That’s when ideas come in a rush.
By the time I get home,
I often have to journal,
spilling out the thoughts that arrived
between bird calls and the crunch of leaves underfoot.
Lately, I’ve found that same peace in bush regeneration.
Lane Cove National Park has dozens of teams
who coax landscapes back into life,
pull weeds, plant seedlings,
and slowly turn degraded corners into thriving bushland.
The site where I work is only minutes
from one of Sydney’s busiest, most congested roads.
But five minutes down the track,
the forest closes around you
and the city feels far away.
You can still hear the faint hum of traffic,
but it’s softened—
like life’s worries muted to background noise.
Here, surrounded by trees,
you remember that the world is more than its demands,
and that peace can move with you,
stride for stride.
The Afterword 
Leave a comment