why stories?
We tell stories to make sense of our lives, especially when things change. dwuo was started originally to help people during 2020, when many faced job loss and career change. The conversations revolve around people trying understand themselves better, especially when the earth moves from under their feet. Occasionally I reflect on my own experiences. Let me know what you think.
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people cannot make sense of anything without attaching to it a storyline
Tim Keller
Latest Posts
- A Rough New Start
Life doesn’t disappoint when it comes to surprising you. I started this blog about 18 months ago, marking a transition in my life. It came about because I had an abrupt finish to a job that I loved, and hoped I would be doing for a good few more years. I need to go back to the beginning of 2020. I just returned from my … - Dealing with the pain of forgiveness
An end of year reflection Delta and Omicron. A new job. Importance of family and friends. Community. The blessing of another grandchild. Zoom. Social Media fatigue. And learning that I am cisgender (sorry, I’m slow). These are some thoughts that come to mind when I think about 2021. (There are plenty of others but these will do for now.) It was a year I was … - Being the star in my story
A Christmas Reflection Last night I went to a cricket game at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It was a lot of fun. Our team, the Sixers won, which is always nice. The evening was perfect for a “Big Bash” game. Yet, there was something that I hadn’t noticed before in any previous game. A lot of kids would form in little clusters, like bees to … - Living on the other side of the planet
Now we realise it really is on the other side of the planet “Previously, I think before Covid, I would have said only 30 percent. Now I think that that percentage is higher, because we realised how far we are from our family.” Esther Mirjam muses on the likelihood of returning to her homeland of Switzerland. Covid has changed so much. “Before we came here … - Cultivating what matters
Change for the better “’Kaizen’ has been my word for this year,” Sam explains. It is a Japanese term that means change for the better or continuous improvement. She tells me about a process that commenced for her a little over two years ago. At the time Sam began reassessing her priorities. She was working for the Christian Humanitarian agency, Baptist World Aid (BWAA) and … - Letting Go
Coming to terms with our mortality gives us a unique perspective. Harry muses on the fact that there are some things he cannot change or fix, as much as he would like to. Mr “Fixit” “My kids knew me as Mr Fixit. Whether it was something broken or whether it was an issue they or one of their friends was dealing with. It was usually, … - The Circassian Exile
My father, Nanu, was born 99 years ago on this day. In some ways he was a simple, uncomplicated sort of man. He loved peace, quiet and the company of people who connected him to his homeland in the Caucasus. He was proud, stubborn, could hold grudges over seemingly trivial things, yet was a doting grandfather and loyal family man. Reflecting on the sort of … - A choice to love
“It’s a slow burn grief. There is not a week goes by that you don’t experience some sort of grief.” Andy reflects on the past five years since his wife Julie was diagnosed with early onset dementia. “I’m a farm boy, before I went into ministry I was a tradie. We don’t cry. We’re tough. We pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. None of …
About Gabriel
I’ve worked in the community sector, mainly for charities most of my working life. My favourite fable growing up was the “Tortoise and the Hare”. If you’ve met me, you can probably guess why. Read more
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