Most mornings before logging on to work from my living room, I walk down to the edge of the lake and sit for a while. I observe the rowers and the play of light on the water and the internal shifts—physical, emotional, mental—as I finish waking up and prepare for the day.

It’s a peaceful routine and beautiful. The spot where I sit is beneath a high bridge where the lake goes into a canal that leads to the Puget Sound. I remember very clearly the first time I came here six years ago shortly after moving to Seattle—I was struck by how lovely it was.

Strangely, I only started making this part of my daily routine a few weeks ago, even though it’s only a couple blocks away from my house. It never occurred to me that I could incorporate it into my life in this way (as opposed, say, to just running past it on the the nearby running path). What a pleasure to find something “new” in the neighbourhood after so many years, and what a good reminder to look for the “new” in what is right around us.