Years ago, when the children were in primary school, they used to get on the school bus on the Black Isle and I would nip into Inverness for a swim.
I liked to get a mile of swimming in to set me up for the day.
My schedule, though, was tight and I found myself getting really narky with anyone who got into “my” lane and slowed me down.
Like I had any more right to that particular part of the pool than anyone else.
Sadly it is a trait in me I recognise in the present, too.
It’s amazing how possessive we can become about our own wee part of the world.
Is that something that feels familiar to you?
I am conscious that since the lifting of the five-mile travel restrictions, there are a lot more people in and around Dornoch.
Part of me realises that the town depends on visitors to help local shops and restaurants and other businesses survive, and for people to earn the income they need to pay the bills; there is another part of me that resents having to share the miles of beach and the walks around, with others.
Maybe it is just me who feels that way but I suspect others do, too.
There seems to be something in human nature that makes us want to see to ourselves before we see to anyone else.
I want my quiet morning walks because the dog can be off the lead and I can walk at whatever pace I want.
I can look for sea glass or shells and don’t have to worry about getting in anyone else’s way.
When there are visitors around, I have to take them into account and keep the dog in check because he thinks every dog exists to play with him.
On top of that, these days there are the added pressures of making sure we keep a safe distance away from each other so as not to pass on any bugs.
And I guess that’s the biggest concern: A bug. More precisely: “The” virus.
We have got off very lightly in these last few months in the Highlands, but with the influx of visitors there is the increased risk of someone from somewhere bringing an unwelcome visitor with them in the shape of Covid-19.
It seems easier to adopt the stance of Portmahomack, in Ross-shire and have a notice up saying we love visitors but not right now.
But battening down the hatches cannot continue to be an option, not if we want our town to be able to get back on its feet.
The challenge is to be safely welcoming in the hope that the visitors, too, will be equally careful and respectful.
And it is a challenge. You do have to choose not to walk past people with that resentful look that says: “What are you doing here?”
Mainly because there are so many new houses around that in fact they could be residents who are normally at work, but who are out walking because they are furloughed, or working from home.
The challenge is the same for every community, though.
And not only in times of a pandemic.
How do we make room for those who come in to what we see as “our” world and change the dynamic of “our” comfort zone?
It is something that has happened all the way through history.
People have always been on the move – not just holidaying but looking for new adventures and for places to settle.
It never ceases to amaze me to discover more and more weird and wonderful places where there are people who have strong links to Scotland.
From the obvious Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA, to Taiwan, the Czech Republic, various other parts of Europe, to Russia, numerous African countries, as well as the 100,000 Argentinians who claim Scottish ancestry.
In all these places Scots have been welcomed.
Often carrying with them traditions and ideas, faith and practices that are quite different from the ones held by those they settle among.
These days Scots still go a wandering.
But there are also many who make their way to Scotland bringing with them, as Scots have done in the past and do still now, cultures and traditions which might be very different from what has prevailed in this land in the past.
Again, if we are looking to see our nation thrive, we cannot pull up the drawbridge and tell people to go away.
Instead, we need to find ways of living together which are mutually respectful and which recognise that no one of us has any more right to claim a part of this planet than any other.
This too, needs to be something we do consciously and deliberately.
Refusing to let anything reduce us to selfish self-interest.
I am off now, to head out with the dog.
I would love it to be a people-free walk but that is highly unlikely.
In which case I will make sure I smile to all those I see and have a word of welcome ready for all those who walk this tiny corner of the globe with me.
The Very Rev Susan Brown is minister of Dornoch Cathedral and the former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
