The Afterword

Tag: mental-health

  • Top 30: Joy Edition

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    Peter
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    A Playlist of Things That Make Me Happy Mood: Grounded wonder • Quiet hope • Relational beauty Places That Stir the Soul People and Community Moments of Growth and Formation Nature and Beauty That Nourish Creative Joy and Surprise Simple Sensory Anchors

  • Letter to Myself

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    Peter
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    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 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

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

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    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…

  • Using Your Time Off to Draw Near

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    Peter
    in

    “What’s the one luxury you can’t live without?” It’s a question that often pops up in interviews or icebreaker games—lighthearted, maybe even fun. But the more I sat with it, the more uncomfortable I felt. The premise behind the question assumes a world of excess. It normalises indulgence as necessity. Yet the vast majority of…

  • Making It Happen—Without Making a Fuss

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    Peter
    in

    I was once given a “Make It Happen Award” at work. It surprised me. I’ve never been the “charge ahead and take the hill” type. I’m not the loudest voice in the room. I don’t pound the table or dominate the agenda. But making things happen can look different. Sometimes it’s a quiet conversation that…

  • A Brief History of Gainful Employment

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    Peter
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    Delivery boy — Technically, my first job. I was a prescription mule for the local pharmacy, zipping around on my bike like a budget courier with zero insurance. Kept me fit. Also gave me thighs of steel. Rifle range target marker — Nothing quite says “occupational hazard” like sitting in a bunker in front of…

  • You Make More of a Difference Than You Think

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    Peter
    in

    Every now and then, I try to take stock. Just an honest look in the mirror. What have I been given? What am I growing into? What can I offer? I’m not naturally comfortable answering the question, “What are you good at?” It feels like walking a narrow ridge between false humility and quiet pride.…

  • Let’s Talk About Tension

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    Peter
    in

    When I hear the phrase “work-life balance,” I get uneasy. It conjures images of perfect equilibrium—neatly arranged schedules, harmonious transitions, nothing out of place. But that has never felt real to me. My experience is far closer to a game of Whac-A-Mole: get one thing under control and another pops up. Harmony, if it comes…

  • Not Later, But Now

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    Peter
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    For a while now, I’ve carried a quiet intention:to spend more time in nature — not just walking through it, but working with it.To be part of something restorative, to give back to the land in small, steady ways. I’ve told myself that this kind of thing belongs to the “next season” of life.When things…

  • Freedom, Desire, and the Mirage of Power

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    Peter
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    There’s a kind of freedom that’s easy to sell.It looks like confidence.It sounds like influence.It promises strength, wealth, admiration, and endless choice.But it’s a mirage. False liberators know how to speak to pain.They speak to young men:You’ve been ignored. You’re not wanted. You’re powerless.Take what you deserve. Be feared, not overlooked. Be served.It sounds like…

  • A Way of Being in the World

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    Peter
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    There is a kind of public influence that disturbs the soul. It cloaks itself in authority, but what it reveals—again and again—is a profound betrayal of moral responsibility. It is not simply a matter of disagreeing with policies or positions. What is at stake is something deeper: a way of being in the world. This…

  • You Trust the Next Chapter

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    Peter
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    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

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    Peter
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    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

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    Peter
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    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…