Periods of change, disruption and finding a “new steady state”
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 … Continue reading A Rough New Start
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 … Continue reading Living on the other side of the planet
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 … Continue reading Cultivating what matters
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, … Continue reading Letting Go
“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 … Continue reading A choice to love
“I don’t see transitions as being gentle, ongoing, slightly rocky bush trails. I see them as being difficult. You are going to get bruised and battered. But when you get to the top, you are going to be proud of that. And it will sting for a bit, but what a reminder of what you’ve achieved.” Katie reflects on her love of mountain hiking as … Continue reading A hiker’s view of transitions
Some of our best-known story lines portray a character returning home after a period of absence. Depending on our story, the main protagonist returns from a protracted absence to confront circumstances that cannot be ignored and that only she or he can face. Moses is one such character in the Bible, returning to Egypt to lead his people out of slavery. You could probably think … Continue reading A Returning Transition
A mild transition? Sometimes transitions are obvious. They are marked by a single event, such as a marriage or a divorce or having your first baby or starting a whole new career. But other times transitions might only appear as such in retrospect – a little like the sun rising on a cloudy day. You know it has happened but can’t pinpoint the moment of … Continue reading Ten thousand hours
What is the cost of growing up? This may not be the question we normally ask when thinking about our progression to adulthood. Yet I have observed that a child’s identity and worldview are primarily shaped by their family of origin. Even the tiny mannerisms that escape our faces have their origins in the people who nurtured us in our earliest years. So, whether we … Continue reading The cost of growing up
don't write us off 