The Afterword

Category: Daily Prompt

  • Letter to Myself

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    Peter
    in

    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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    by

    Peter
    in

    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
    in

    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
    in

    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
    in

    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
    in

    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
    in

    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
    in

    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
    in

    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…

  • How Quickly We Trust The Axe

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    Peter
    in

    – reflections in the shadow of Isaiah 10 What bothers meis how quickly we trust the axe. How easily we forgetthat violence, even when it seems effective,is never virtuous.That power, however polished,is not the same as wisdom.That God may use the axe,but God is never its servant. I’ve been sitting with Isaiah —sitting in the…

  • Ten Things I Know for Sure

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    Peter
    in

    God is good,even when the news is not,even when the plan doesn’t land,even when I forget. People bloomwhen given light—a listening ear,a meaningful task,a seat at the table. Peace is worth morethan being rightabout the colour of the chairsor the pace of the meeting.Some hills are not worth dying on.Some are. Words matter.They hold,they wound,they…

  • The Third Way

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    Peter
    in

    Interviewer: Are you seeking security or adventure? Me:Neither.I made that choice decades ago. No regrets. Interviewer: That’s unusual. Most people aim for one or the other—either a solid foundation or something that makes the heart race.Me:I get that.But both are inward-looking.Security asks, “Am I safe?”Adventure asks, “Am I thrilled?”I asked, “What matters most?” Interviewer: And…

  • When Everything Happens

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    Peter
    in

    One minute I’m laughing with Kate Bowler, the next I’m quiet. That’s the effect she has—a sharp observer of life’s contradictions, able to name both the absurd and the sacred in the same breath. She grew up in a Mennonite megachurch in Winnipeg—an unlikely mix of pacifism and spectacle. She now teaches at Duke Divinity…

  • What gets better with age?

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    Peter
    in

    Life. We had a big school reunion last year. I wasn’t sure what to expect—decades had passed—but it turned out to be surprisingly good. Familiar faces, stories retold, gaps filled in. A few of us met up again before Christmas. No agenda, just time to talk. One friend shared how he’d spent years teaching chess…

  • The Gift of Quiet Hours

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    Peter
    in

    I usually go to bed at 9.00pm. After a full day, I’m ready for it. There’s no fanfare—just a slow wind-down and sleep not far behind. And then I wake at 4.30am. No alarm, no urgency. Just the quiet sense that the day has begun. It feels like I’m the only one awake—until I start…

  • Morning Pages, Morning Peace

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    Peter
    in

    For me, writing is one of the most reliable sources of comfort. I don’t journal in the traditional sense—there’s no “dear diary” and no record of what I did the day before. Instead, I write about something that has caught my attention, or I respond to a prompt like this one. Some mornings, my mind…

  • What Excites Me Now

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    Peter
    in

    There was a time when excitement meant chasing new goals — building a career, learning new things, and taking opportunities as they came. I’m not someone who lives for travel, but whether for work, family, or leisure, we’ve ended up visiting every continent — including some very wild places. Antarctica earlier this year was a…

  • When Peace and Principle Collide

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    Peter
    in

    A reflection on ideological certainty and harmony I am known for being easy to get along with. And also, for being stubborn. It’s a combination that puzzles people. I don’t mind that. I’ve learned over time that harmony doesn’t come from sameness, and peace doesn’t come from everyone agreeing with me. I don’t need to…

  • What Is Your Favorite Genre of Music? It depends on the day. And sometimes, it is a surprise.

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    by

    Peter
    in

    Some people have a favourite genre like they have a favourite coffee order — fixed, dependable, always the same. I’m not one of those people. For me, music is mood. It’s memory. It’s atmosphere and longing and curiosity all rolled together. My listening habits are not about allegiance to a particular genre but about what…

  • The Accidental Paradise

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    Peter
    in

    When we were newly married and living in the Northern Rivers of NSW, holidays were simple by necessity. We didn’t have much money and were a long way from family, so our usual approach was to throw a tent in the car and see where we ended up. One January, we decided to head north,…