The Afterword

Tag: life

  • The Desert I Still Might Cross

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    Peter
    in

    What’s the biggest risk you’d like to take — but haven’t been able to? If I were a younger man, I might try to cross a desert. But I’m not, so I’ll settle for something more realistic — the Larapinta Trail in Central Australia. It runs 223 kilometres from Alice Springs to Mount Sonder, one…

  • When the World Is Asleep

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    Peter
    in

    What have you been working on? Sometimes the work begins when the world is asleep. Last night the phone rang well after midnight — a mother, frightened and far away, worried for her son who hadn’t been in touch since early evening. Her son is an international student staying in our residential college. She couldn’t…

  • The Boy Who Stepped In

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    Peter
    in

    What’s something most people don’t know about you? My first year at school was a blur of anxiety and confusion. I was only four, too young to understand what was happening. My best friend was still at home, nine months younger, and the playground felt like another planet. I hadn’t been to pre-school, so I…

  • Through Many Moves

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    Peter
    in

    What makes a good neighbour? I’ve moved a lot. Different streets, different locations. Each one teaches you something about people and how we live near each other. When I was a kid, our street was full of children. We were in and out of each other’s houses all the time. There were small irritations but…

  • Friendship at This Stage of Life

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    Peter
    in

    What could you try for the first time? I know it sounds strange, but I’m going to try something that comes innately to three- and four-year-olds. Something my dog does without thinking. I’m going to try to be more intentional about friendship. That might sound odd for someone who already has friends — some going…

  • What I’ve Been Putting Off

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    Peter
    in

    What have you been putting off doing? Why? Here’s a list of things I’ve been putting off: Boxes of papers from ten years ago that I packed under the stairs. An old bicycle that needs to be repaired or re-homed. Books in my library that I can’t take when we downsize. A tax return that…

  • The Ripple Effect

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    Peter
    in

    If I had a million dollars to give away, I know exactly where it would go.It would go to people who believe — as I do — that education changes everything. I’ve spent my whole adult life helping people grow. It’s the thread that runs through everything that has mattered to me: seeing people develop…

  • If I Couldn’t Fail

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    Peter
    in

    If I couldn’t fail, I’d buy a patch of land — a tired stretch of soil and scrub — and try to bring it back to life. I’d plant local eucalypts and grevilleas, wattles and banksias, enough variety to invite the birds back and coax the insects home. I’d watch the contours of the land…

  • The Hardest Goal I Ever Set

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    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

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    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…

  • When “Black Tie” Didn’t Mean What I Thought It Did

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    Peter
    in

    I feel very embarrassed when I look back on it. I was a broke uni student when the invitation arrived: a 21st birthday party in one of Sydney’s more affluent suburbs. The card read simply: Black Tie. Perfect, I thought. I didn’t own one, but I knew a mate who did. A quick borrow, and…

  • A Day in the Diary

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    Peter
    in

    Your life without a computer: what does it look like? 7.00am. The desk feels emptier without a screen in front of me. Essays take forever. My pen scratches against the page, and when I need a reference, I head to the library, combing through indexes and card catalogues. Progress is measured in hours, not minutes.…

  • The Hidden Economy of Friendship

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    Peter
    in

    I was talking recently with a friend who noted that loneliness is a major issue for Australian men. Maybe less so for women—I’m not sure. I sometimes wonder if busyness simply covers it over. Being the boss at work comes with its own kind of solitude. Responsibility sits with me, and for now, people seek…

  • The First Time I Learned Hard Work

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    Peter
    in

    In what ways does hard work make you feel fulfilled? I was fifteen the first time I met hard work face to face. Not chores, not the jobs around home that I already knew. This was something else—intensely hard work, the kind that strips you back, leaves you empty, and then fills you with a…

  • Risk and Waiting

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    Peter
    in

    What’s the trait you value most about yourself? What I value most about myself is not a single trait but a paradox I live with. I am both daring and patient. I will risk everything when the cause is right, and yet I will wait years if the time is not ready. It’s a strange…

  • Three Jobs if Money Didn’t Matter

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    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…

  • Many Strands of Heritage

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    Peter
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    What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in? When I think about my cultural heritage as an Australian, I don’t immediately go to music, food, or fashion. I go to politics—not the bickering kind, but those rare, defining decisions that have shaped the fabric of our nation. There are…

  • How Often Do I Walk or Run?

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    Peter
    in

    I don’t run these days. I’m a bit old for it, and if I were to run, I’d prefer to do it in a game with teammates—passing, chasing, laughing—not as a solitary exercise. But I walk every day, and rarely alone. In fact, as I write this, I’m heading out the door with the dog.…

  • Lighthouse Keeper

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    Peter
    in

    Do I see myself as a leader? Yes, though I would describe my leadership differently from the way many might picture it. I have led churches and not-for-profits for the best part of forty years, but I am not the loudest voice in the room nor am I constantly chasing the next opportunity. My style…

  • Play and Encounter

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    Peter
    in

    I tried to answer the question, “What’s your favourite word?” but I couldn’t do it. One word isn’t enough. My world is held together by tensions. Not contradictions to be solved, but creative tensions to be lived. The energy is in the middle, in the space where both are true at once. So it makes…