Pictures!

The Cathedral

So, the cathedral in Nelson is amazing. Although not much bigger than St. Joes back home, the architecture is great. Crafted from local marble, the church is a giant grey sentinel standing on a hill overlooking downtown Nelson.

I went in yesterday on a lark... It looked imposing from the outside, especially in the rainy grey drizzle of the day. There was not a soul inside, and the whole building was dead quiet. I decided to sit for a while and contemplate my situation. I have been stressing about many different things for the last couple of weeks, and while I would like to think that it was just while I was getting ready to go, that is really not how it is. I have been stressing since getting here just as badly. Worrying about work visa, money, car, etc., etc...

So, I am sitting there in the dead stillness, and slowly it dawns on me that I am not in control anymore (although it is debatable if I ever really was!). And somehow, that makes me feel

better.

So, here are some pictures from my day.

On the floor of the cathedral, they had a labyrinth painted on the floor, known as the "Road to Jerusalem." The story goes that during the middle-ages, when pilgrimages to Jerusalem were costly and dangerous, Christians would instead go to a cathedral in Europe and slowly walk the labyrinth as a symbolic journey... traversing the path from outside to the center. The walk is broken into three stages; releasing on the way in, receiving in the center, and returning to the outside with that which has been received. Upon entering, a small prayer is said... "This is my journey. Give me the courage to carry on."

You can see the labyrinth in the background of the image above.

In Nelson Gardens, they have a wing that is a Chinese Garden. It was actually very well done... I was surprised.

Below is the geographic center of New Zealand. Interesting...