The Afterword

Tag: blog

  • What Arrived This Year

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    Is your life today what you pictured a year ago? Is my life today what I pictured a year ago? The answer is yes and no. I lived on the beaches for thirty years, so my worldview is shaped by surf culture. One of the first things you learn is that you don’t control the…

  • Doing Less of “More”

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    What could you do less of? My mother has always said that I do too much. She may be right. If the blog prompt asks what I could do less of, the honest answer is this: I could do less of “more.” There’s something in me—an impulse, a reflex—that thinks I can always add one…

  • The Hidden Wins of 2025

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    What positive events have taken place in your life over the past year? It’s been a tough year in places. My parents are going downhill fast, and my mother is now permanently in a nursing home. It’s stressful for them and stressful for us, yet I’m grateful that the whole family has shown up in…

  • Five Things I’m Good At

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    Share five things you’re good at. Some people’s strengths are loud. Mine have always been quieter—subtle things that don’t announce themselves, but settle into the background of a room, or a team, or a community. They’re not the kind of skills that appear on a résumé, but they’re the ones that shape the way I…

  • Independence as Headspace

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    What technology would you be better off without, why? When we talk about technology we could live without, many people think of screens or apps. But the technology I would be better off without is much more familiar. A car. I didn’t always think this way. Like most people, I inherited the assumption that a…

  • If I Could Meet a Historical Figure

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be and why? If I had the chance to meet a historical figure—even for only a couple of minutes—I would choose Henry Lawson. Not because he is one of Australia’s most celebrated writers, though he is. Not because his poetry captures the hard, unvarnished truth…

  • What I’ve Been Putting Off

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    What have you been putting off doing? Why? Here’s a list of things I’ve been putting off: At first glance, it’s just a list of chores. But they form a quiet constellation — pieces of life I’ve postponed because they each deserve more than a rushed hour squeezed between meetings and errands. The boxes hold…

  • The Hardest Goal I Ever Set

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    What was the hardest personal goal you’ve set for yourself? It began with an idea.A flicker really — a connection I started to notice between my interest in creative writing and my practice as a preacher. Both, I realised, were about shaping meaning, holding attention, and opening space for discovery. I thought a doctorate might…

  • Nothing to Lose, Everything to Give

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    What would you do if you lost all your possessions? It’s a confronting question — one that sounds hypothetical, except it isn’t. For me, it came close to reality. I was caught in a scam. What I thought was a small, trustworthy investment turned into a complex trap. Over time, what had seemed solid dissolved…

  • Three Jobs if Money Didn’t Matter

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    List three jobs you’d consider pursuing if money didn’t matter. If money were no object, I’d choose work that feels less like a job and more like a way of honouring what matters. Each of these roles is about restoration—of stories, of people, of things we might otherwise lose. The Story GathererI imagine a workstation…

  • Ziggy’s Party

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    Yesterday we celebrated Ziggy’s 6th birthday. Ziggy, for those who don’t know, is a cavoodle who has left paw prints on the heart of our college since the day he arrived. His story is already legendary: at just 12 weeks old, his owner was encouraged to let him sleep outside. The fences were secure, but…

  • The Mirror and The Window

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    What I enjoy most about writing is that it lets me reflect on life—this wondrous, complex, ambiguous gift we’ve been given. To write is to pause long enough to notice, to respect the joy and mystery of it all. Writing is a mirror. It reflects what I hear, see, and feel. Every week I take…

  • For Those Who Want to Go Deeper

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    This blog began as a personal discipline. I found myself sitting in church, receiving a sermon like a consumer—“Nice sermon, Reverend”—and moving on. But something in me wanted more engagement. What if, instead of moving on, I stayed with the message? Sat with it. Let it shape something in me, or be reflected back through…

  • A Name Given by the Tribe

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    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…

  • Losing Track of Time—By Moving Through It

    —

    by

    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…

  • What Excites Me Now

    —

    by

    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…

  • The Outfit I’d Be Willing to Be Known For

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    Or, The Guy in the Red Vest If I had to wear one outfit over and over again, I already know what it would be. Not because it’s the most flattering thing I’ve ever owned, or the most fashionable. But because I’ve already worn it, over and over. And I’ve already been known for it.…

  • A Royal Waste of Time: Why I Wish I Wasted More

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    This is an intriguing question: How do you waste the most time every day?Part of me wonders—do I waste enough? Marva Dawn wrote a book I’ve returned to often, titled A Royal Waste of Time. She suggests that much of our modern thinking—even in worship—gets caught up in outcomes and effectiveness. Did it connect? Did…

  • What I Hold

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    Every so often, I find myselfreaching for the map again,not the one with borders and rail lines,but the one folded somewhere in my chest—creased with names I’ve never spoken aloud,warmed by places I haven’t stood inbut already miss. I hold England like an heirloom—my grandmother in Leeds,the streets she might have walkedwith a loaf under…

  • Kindness, with a Key

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    For me, it would be my car — a 2006 Honda Accord.It’s coming up for its 20th birthday next year and has 250,000 km on the clock. I’m the third owner. I bought it from friends I know well — the kind of people who are fastidious with everything they own. I’d dropped in to…