Tag: life

Utterance 2000 times and not counting

Peter Hallett3 Comments

Utterance, an attempt to encourage reflective pauses and thoughtful communication, has just recorded 2000 visits – not including my own!

This may be a result of family and friends visiting the site 20 times a day, but hopefully it is an indication that an invisible community of people have been connecting and finding something here that enriches their day.

Utterance is a conglomeration of creative expression, timely information, spiritual devotional, critical comment and reflective observation and half the time, I don’t know which is going to come next.

And then there is the side-bar… glowing with widgets, I wonder if you noticed, that among all the ways you can search or subscribe,  it feeds news from Christianity Today and shows Utterance on Twitter – Twutterance – although I’m yet to find time to get this moving regularly.

As to where this is heading, the best part is not knowing. PH

Life is like a short film

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Scene 1: Filmic moment for Jo

We pulled into Civic video and Jo scurried out, barefoot, to deposit the slightly late return. Hopping back in the car, we headed up Norton St, past Bar Italia on one side and Mezzapica further up on the other.

We hit a red light next to the illuminated Leichhardt Town Hall, and the three of us (Rebekah in the back), sat there in the quiet evening, no traffic around, waiting for the lights to change.

“I feel like I’m in a short film,” said Josiah. “Whenever we just randomly pull up at a red light and there’s nothing around, it feels like a scene from a short film,” he elaborates.

We look at Jo. He turns his head and looks at me. The universe blinks. Our light turns green and we continue our journey home.

Scene 2: Sydney is the short film capital of the world

It’s no wonder people are having random short film epiphanies, after all Sydney is the home of Tropfest, the world’s largest short film festival.

Thanks to Josiah for providing a spontaneous and authentic introduction to a quick review of the 16 finalists from Tropest 2010.Read More »

See your city through different eyes

Peter Hallett2 Comments

To really know your city or town you need to see it at different hours on different days. The cycle of time brings an ebb and flow of people like tides bringing different creatures to the shore.Read More »

All you have to do is live your life

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“‘Oh Val,’ said Father. ‘All you have to do is live your life , and everyone around you will be happier.’
‘No greatness, then.’
‘Val,’ said Mother, ‘goodness trumps greatness any day.’
‘Not in the history books,’ said Valentine.
‘Then the wrong people are writing history, aren’t they?’ said Father.

From Ender in Exile, by Orson Scott Card.

The nearly most important thing

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We tackle some heavy issues here at Utterance but this is serious stuff tonight.

Yesterday I found a large take away coffee on Norton St for just $3. That’s right, $3 – at least $1.10 below the usual premium rate you pay for coffee in Little Italy.

This cheap brew is hiding away in the baby cakes outlet in Norton Plaza. I guess the plan is that you buy a cheap but tasty coffee and a small but expensive cup cake.

Well, I just stuck to the coffee and it’s not too bad. What’s more, it’s organic Fair Trade!!

Feel free to share your own totally indulgent coffee story… PH

How are those resolutions going?

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This is my 21st blog post for 2010 having boldly resolved to post every day of the year. So I’ve already broken my New Year’s resolution eight times and January is not even over! I may attempt multiple posts to catch up. Do you think that counts?

 It’s an interesting phrase when you think about it:

  • Resolution is a firm resolve to do something;
  • Re can mean “again and again” while solution means “answer” so a resolution might be coming back to the answer again and again (which sounds very much like a new year’s resolution!)
  • Tracing back to its origin, the word resolution comes from the Latin resolutionem (nom. resolutio) meaning “process of reducing things into simpler forms,” which in turn comes the stem of resolvere – “loosen”. The solution, it would seem, is in finding the simplest way forward, free of restraints.
  • Resolution in our age also refers to the fineness of detail in an image which could mean a new year’s resolution is a sharper view of life. Or a blurrier one…
  • And as for being a new year, if the only thing that changes is the date – and not your decision, your thinking, your spirit – then is it new at all?

How are you going with your New Year resolutions? PH

Off to Bali with strings in tune

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Tomorrow I join a bunch of young people from our church community, and later from other churches, on a short trip to Bali where we partner with local people to run a very special children’s home.

We go with great humility to encourage, support, learn from and, hopefully, contribute to an awesome team of people – Indonesian and Australian – who make Eternity Blessed Children’s Home a reality.

We’ll take the kids to the beach; visit disadvantaged rural families; paint a wall; share in church; listen, laugh and cry with the workers and hopefully get a few moments to soak in the beauty of Bali. 

We are taking a guitar because music is a universal language and some of our team are gifted in this area. For years we’ve just tossed our acoustic in the back seat, no case, and never thought twice. Suddenly we realised this would not be good on a plane!Read More »

‘It just worked out that way’

Peter Hallett2 Comments

“I’ve had a bit of a tough life,” the old fellow said as he tried to straighten his back before shuffling on towards his government flat.

Skin and bone with a fluro short and greasy cap, I walked behind him, hand on his soft arm or bent back to steady him.

“How many times have you been hit by a car?” I ask, recalling previous stories.

Read More »

Today I…

Peter Hallett1 Comment

Today I- followed up a young person we rescued from a dangerous situation on the weekend; listened as an elderly believer shared her life story with me; lifted chairs with a man from our community lunch who used to swear constantly but now only says ‘bloody’; helped a neighbour park a car; started setting up our office after re-location; picked my wife up from work, on time; remembered to book dinner our for our anniversary tomorrow night; drove to Bowral and back for the wedding rehearsal of a young couple I’m marrying on Saturday; froze as the mist descended; hugged a friend just returned from overseas; watered my tomatoes; learned that the father of a friend has tragically died from injuries sustained in a car accident; prayed.

You’re breathing in
The highs and lows
We call it living

In this needle and haystack life
I found miracles there in your eyes
It’s no accident we’re here tonight
We are once in a lifetime

Switchfoot
Needle and Haystack Life
Hello Hurricane

PH

Learn to depend on me more

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The late Canon Jim Glenon went through a severe personal crisis earlier in his life during which he reported hearing the indelible voice of God say: ‘You are to learn to depend on me more’. A ‘transposition’ ocuured in his life: ‘Instead of the previous idea of God helping me with my difficulties, now my difficulties were helping me with God… This meant that, instead of homing in on my problems, my problems were enable me to home in on God. This is what I was to learn; this is what I had to do’. PH

Eyes of Fire focus on 2010

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New Year 2010

It’s 2010 and after seeing another year in from two different locations around Sydney Harbour, one of my new year’s resolutions is to post everyday to Utterance.

breath | speak | breath – a good rhythm for life and communication. Feel free to join me this year as I search for meaning, significance, laughter, the absurd, wonder, beauty, horror, warmth, hope, life and God in each and every day. I hope my search inspires yours. PH