The Afterword

Author: Peter

  • Quiet Joy

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    Peter
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    There’s a quiet joy that comes from doing the same things, again and again, with purpose. Each day closes with Scripture. After the meetings, the meals, the movement of the day, I return to stillness. The light softens, the world quiets, and I open the text—not out of obligation, but to let the final word…

  • Curiosity as a Way of Life

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    Peter
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    with gratitude to Tony Rinaudo and the forests beneath our feethttps://youtu.be/29bqRTW2aow I’m curious about how things hold together—ecosystems, communities, memories.What’s quietly mending beneath the surfacewhile we’re distracted by outcomes. I’m curious about the healing power of nature,about how a scorched landscapecan remember itself greenwhen we stop trying to make it ‘productive’. Tony Rinaudo writes of…

  • Just Passing It On

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    Peter
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    It wasn’t really my kindness, not in the way people usually mean it. Two years ago, a student from China arrived at our college.Shy, polite, still finding his feet — and his English.One Monday morning he came to see me, agitated and afraid.The story took time to piece together:he’d been caught in an online scam,forced…

  • If You Can’t See Me

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    Peter
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    Picture a man at the edge of a crowd. Not trying to stand out, not trying to blend in. He’s the one scanning the space, not nervously, not passively, but like someone looking for a familiar voice. That could be you. You’re the one he’s waiting for. He’s a touch over six feet tall—tall enough…

  • Not Just Morality

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    Peter
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    We went to Sunday School when I was a kid. Most weeks. But we never went to church. Not even at Christmas or Easter. At the time, I didn’t think it was odd. A lot of Australian families I knew did the same. I think my parents thought Sunday School gave us something. A kind…

  • Name by Name

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    Peter
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    Was today typical?Not in the slightest. It began with the quiet courage of 78 new studentsstepping into their first lectures—most in a new country,many in a new language.Timetables, tutorials,and the brave business of beginning. I began the New Resident Interviews—they’ll continue over the next two weeks.Most are in small groups—two or three at a time—but…

  • Pull Up A Chair

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    Peter
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    I try to live in a way that reflects what I value. I’ve worn a few hats—pastor, lecturer, college principal—but the thread running through them all is people. Listening to them, learning from them, helping them grow. I’m most at home when I’m building something that lasts: trust, community, clarity, hope. I value listening more…

  • Overflow – Mark 1:9-13

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    Peter
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    A Sermon on the Holy Trinity We say:three persons,one God.And already our minds flinchlike startled birds. It is not easy—but it is true. The preacher might jokeabout coming down with influenzarather than preach this mystery.But still—here we are,looking into the cockpit,lights blinking,dials glowing,a thousand unseen systemsmaking flight possiblethis doctrine is the cockpit. This doctrine is…

  • Not Quite a Dinosaur, But Close Enough

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    Peter
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    I’ve never really been into dinosaurs. Most of what I do know about them comes from The Flintstones. As a kid, I didn’t pore over Jurassic encyclopedias—I watched Fred slide off the back of a brontosaurus-excavator when it was quitting time, his time-card snapped by a tiny dino. And I thought, “Yep, that checks out.”…

  • More Than a Destination

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    Peter
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    If I won two free plane tickets, I wouldn’t choose based on the usual criteria—weather, reviews, or what’s trending on travel blogs. I’d choose based on what I want to invest in. Wonder? Then I’d fly to Iqaluit and join an expedition to Baffin Island. There’s something about wild places—the stark beauty, the silence, the…

  • A Name Given by the Tribe

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    Peter
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    You don’t name yourself, not really.That’s not how nicknames work. They arrive unexpectedly, quietly—like a stray dog that decides to follow you home.You might not even notice it at first.But the people around you do.They see something, say something, and suddenly, there it is: a new name.And if it sticks, it sticks. For me, it…

  • Letter to Myself

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    Peter
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    Dear Me at 70, I hope you’re still waking early,not out of duty, but because the morning offers something no other part of the day can—a soft kind of hushthat makes room for reflectionand lets you move gently into whatever comes next. I hope you still begin with the animals—their quiet reliance a steadying thing,a…

  • What are your future travel plans?

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    Peter
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    We don’t have any specific travel plans at the moment—there are other priorities as I head toward retirement. Chief among them is refurbishing an apartment that we hope will be a good fit for the next chapter of life. As I’ve written elsewhere, I don’t keep a bucket list. https://theafterword.blog/2025/04/13/bucket-lists-and-buffett-lists/ I’m not driven by a…

  • What Would I Change About Modern Society?

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    Peter
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    Not everything that matters can be measured. Not generosity.Not endurance.Not the quiet resilience of a young man who studies through grief,or the kindness of a woman who smiles even when she misses her mother’s funeral. In my eight years as principal of a university college, I’ve had the privilege of walking alongside students who arrived…

  • Conversations with a Restless Library

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    Peter
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    I don’t curate.I don’t pre-select.I don’t build productivity playlists. I just hit shuffle on my entire music library and wait to see what sort of mood it’s in. Some days, it’s a model colleague — thoughtful, supportive, gently nudging me into creative flow.Other days, it behaves like a caffeinated record-store assistant with a point to…

  • The 10-Minute Meal That Saves Me

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    Peter
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    Many years ago, I read a quick interview with a chef. I don’t remember their name, or much else about the article, but one question stuck:“What do you cook at the end of a long day?” Their answer wasn’t romantic. It wasn’t seared anything or rustic sourdough or anything involving balsamic reduction. It was just:“Something…

  • Where only one person wins

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    Peter
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    I know it’s just a board game.But Monopoly is the one I always come back to.We pull it out when everyone’s around, and there’s just enough time to pretend we’ll finish a game. We won’t. Someone always lands on Mayfair, someone always rolls snake eyes, someone always tries to be fair and ends up last.…

  • Notes from a Dining Hall Dreamer

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    Peter
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    I don’t cook anymore. These days, I eat in the college dining hall—three meals a day, plenty of warm food and good company, but not a lot of variety. It works. It keeps the wheels turning. But every so often, I remember the kitchen version of myself. The one with spice-stained cookbooks and half-used jars…

  • Dogs or Cats?

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    Peter
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    People ask it like it’s a personality test. As though the answer reveals whether you are loyal or aloof,needy or independent,playful or discerning.But maybe it’s not that black and white.Maybe it’s not even about pets. Maybe it’s about how we love. Do we want someone who runs to greet usevery time we walk through the…

  • Losing Track of Time—By Moving Through It

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    Peter
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    I’ve never been someone who loses track of time in stillness.Some people sit by the ocean and watch waves roll in like slow breath.They stare at the sky and say they’re thinking about nothing.I respect that. I admire it, even. But it is not me. Stillness makes me restless. I lose track of time when…