Tag: life
-
What Arrived This Year
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…
-
Cities as Conversations
What cities do you want to visit? I’m not really someone who carries a list of destinations in my head. Places don’t usually attract to me on their own. They arrive through people—through stories, relationships, and small associations that linger. Montreal comes to mind first, though I’ve never been there. My wife travelled there by…
-
False Starts
Tell us about your first day at something — school, work, as a parent, etc. I was four. Which, in hindsight, explains a lot. There had been no preschool. No gradual introduction to groups or routines or puzzles on low tables. My entire social world consisted of Robert, who lived three doors down. Robert was…
-
The Komodo Dragon
What is something others do that sparks your admiration? I’ve spent enough years teaching performing artists to know that they move through the world differently. They don’t just perform something—they become it. And that has always sparked my admiration. Music was my first window into this. I’ve watched musicians touch the human soul with a…
-
From Bedrock to Bluey
What’s your favourite cartoon? Cartoons have changed a lot since I was a kid. Back then, my favourites lived in a prehistoric suburb called Bedrock. The Flintstones felt clever to me in ways I couldn’t have named at the time — the stone-age gadgets, the dinosaur appliances, the playful send-ups of adult life. But cartoons…
-
Doing Less of “More”
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
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…
-
The City Is Never Empty
Do you ever see wild animals? One of the quiet joys of living in Australia is discovering how thin the line really is between suburbia and the wild. We talk as if the bush is “out there,” somewhere beyond the edges of our cities, but the truth is that the wild never left. It waits…
-
Five Things I’m Good At
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…
-
The Quiet Thread I Would Change
What is one thing you would change about yourself? Someone once told me that when I get up to preach, it’s like watching someone flick a switch. One moment I’m my usual quiet self, and the next I’m fully present—clear, confident, grounded. Here’s the funny thing: that version of me on the platform is the…
-
The Ritual of Being a Morning Person
Are you more of a night or morning person? I am definitely a morning person now. It wasn’t always that way. There was a time when I pushed myself late into the night, convinced that productivity came after midnight and that mornings were an inconvenience to be conquered. I would stay up long past what…
-
Two Items, Two Stories
What are your two favourite things to wear? If you asked me for my two favourite things to wear, the answer doesn’t come from my current wardrobe. It comes instead from two garments that hold stories — one formal and academic, the other casual and sun-faded — each stitched with memory. 1. The Graduation Gown…
-
Independence as Headspace
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…
-
A Decision That Wasn’t Really a Decision
What’s the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make? Why? Hard decisions come in all shapes. Some are true crossroads. Others pull good commitments in opposite directions. And some don’t feel like decisions at all—they’re simply heavy because of love. Eight years ago we rehomed a border collie named Dakota. Gentle, chocolate tri-colour, quiet as…
-
Pet Peeves That Reveal What I Value
Name your top three pet peeves. I don’t get particularly irritated by these things, but I notice them—mainly because they hint at something larger. They remind us of how our shared life works, and how easily it frays when we forget that we live together, not alone. 1. Abandoned Shopping TrolleysI understand why people wheel…
-
Do You Trust Your Instincts?
Do you trust your instincts? Yes, but I can’t fully explain how they work. I don’t always understand where they come from. But again and again, they show up—especially in the places where I seem to be wired to see clearly. When it comes to ideas or new ventures, something in me recognises them before…
-
A Sliding Doors Reflection
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? To be honest, I’m happy where I am.Sydney has been home for most of my life—its light, its seasons, its familiar rhythms.But every now and then, the imagination wanders.I find myself thinking in parallel lines, picturing the other lives that might have unfolded…
-
When Truth is Uncomfortable
Who is the most famous or infamous person you have ever met? I’ve met a number of famous people over the years — famous not for their celebrity, but for what they’ve contributed. Artists, musicians, politicians, clergy, business leaders. The ones who stay with me aren’t those who draw attention, but those whose conviction shows…
-
Light and Shadow
When you’re a child, everything feels big. The days stretch long, the friendships feel forever, and even the smallest moment can fill the whole sky. Childhood is made of contrasts — light and shadow living side by side. I remember the joy first. Endless days with Robert, three doors up the street. We played until…
The Afterword 