Spring has always been associated with new life, hope, brighter skies and a gateway to the pleasure of summer.

This year has certainly been a spring we’ll never forget, a settling into a new and very different life. A life that contains fear, uncertainty and grief, but also hope, community, the strengthening of bonds and a moment to pause and reflect on what’s important.

So our new normal is to go slow, think more, be present, love large and continue to make the most of being outdoors.

As outdoor women, our solace has come in the form of being allowed outside once a day. Who’d have thought that adventurers like us would relish the opportunity to explore close to home, seek out new paths and short-cuts, discover previously unknown fields and parks, and take pleasure in life’s simplicity.

It’s also been a blessing to enjoy the health benefits of a daily walk, because now more than ever we need them! Our daily walks have gone such a long way to help us cope with feelings of stress and anxiety.

We've made an effort to walk mindfully, switching our phones on to silent, focusing on breathing in the fresh air and being aware of our feet as they touch the ground. We've also noticed the beauty of our surroundings, from the tiniest flower growing out of the pavement, to the fields of daffodils that cover the country lanes.

For those of us who can’t or don’t want to leave home, our new normal may be tending to our gardens or creating new vibrant displays in our window boxes. Many of the ACAI team are creating vegetable patches, transporting weekly yoga lesson into their back gardens, or pitching tents to camp out with their children. The new normal still involves adventure, beauty and bonding opportunities, just in a different form.

Perhaps now is the time to ponder if this new normal is good for us? Could it offer an opportunity to slow down and start living with more awareness, to discover more creative ways of thinking and being, and most of all, appreciate and respect mother nature more than we’ve ever done before.