The Afterword

Tag: mental-health

  • You Trust the Next Chapter

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    After 45 years across multiple careers — as a parish minister, university lecturer, and now principal of a university residential college — I find myself in the change-over zone of a relay race. I’ve spent my working life helping people grow and develop, and that won’t stop anytime soon. But the way I contribute will…

  • Brilliance Too Bright to Bear

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    The last live performance I attended was Nijinsky by The Australian Ballet. It was also, perhaps surprisingly, the first ballet I’ve ever seen. I’ve always appreciated the performing arts—music, theatre, poetry—but ballet had remained at a distance. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I certainly didn’t expect it to stay with me the way it…

  • The Outward-Facing Heart of Community

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    At Robert Menzies College, we’ve always believed that being a residential community means more than simply offering services to students. Yes, we provide accommodation, academic support, and a place to belong—but if we stop there, we’ve missed something vital. Our calling is to be outward-looking. We are not a closed circle. We are part of…

  • Who will you be? How will you live?

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s a question I’ve heard all my life — first directed at me, then at the next generation. It usually expects a job title, something neat and impressive. But what if the better question is: Who will you be? How will you live? That question…

  • The Weight of Staying Silent

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    I’ve built much of my life on being reliable. Loyal. Dutiful. Self-sacrificing. These are strengths I’ve cultivated with care—virtues I’ve leaned on to be the kind of person others can count on. I take my responsibilities seriously. I honour commitments. I do what’s asked of me. And I like the respect that comes with that.…

  • On What Makes Me Nervous

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    It’s not fear that shaped me, not really, not in the way some people mean it. I was never afraid of change, not even as a kid, though I didn’t chase it either. I’ve stayed where things mattered. By the time I’m done, I’ll have worked in four places over forty years, and that sounds…

  • Unwinding

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    I’m not sure I do this very well.Even the question—how do you unwind?—makes me pause. It doesn’t trigger a confident answer, but a kind of internal audit. I don’t have a ritual for it, not really. Not in the conventional sense. Unwinding, for me, is functional. It isn’t about indulgence; it’s about rhythm. I’ve learned…

  • The Happiness I Didn’t Buy

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    Let me start with what I am not. I am not a consumer, at least not in the way the world often defines it. I buy what I need—groceries, dog food, replacement socks. But I’ve never found myself wandering through a shopping centre just to “see what’s new.” I don’t crave the latest model of…

  • To Move Together

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    It’s a simple enough question—what’s the most fun way to exercise? But for me, the answer loops around in unexpected directions, landing somewhere between the paradoxical and the profound. The short answer is: with people. Always with people. But not just any people. And certainly not in any way. This in itself is strange. I’m…

  • When the Storm Came

    —

    by

    Peter
    in

    When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Robert Menzies College (RMC) at Macquarie University, Sydney, found itself in a uniquely higher-risk setting. As a residential college, we faced a heightened potential for contagion. But rather than respond with fear or retreat, we chose to step forward—digging deep into our identity as a Caregiver institution. RMC has always…