I dallied for hours in a forest with my three children the other day. We came across a sign, and followed it to a hut that – according to my fantasy, anyway – was made by some wholesome, outdoorsy schoolboys who live in the neighbourhood and get into the forest at least three times a week.

I came to the realisation* that we don’t get our most valuable lessons by going to a lot of different places and meeting many different people. Our most solid and significant learning happens when we revisit the same place or activity over and over again and appreciate the subtle differences of each experience.

* One of those “realisations” that your head could have articulated already, but your heart now really understands. Is there language to describe this adequately in English?