I've been thinking about doing a post about what's important to me in my life. I've been mulling over whether this is an introduceyourself post or not. I don't want to take advantage of the Steemit platform by posting a second introduceyourself post. But I do feel as though this is introducing the real me. I have been dipping my toes in the Steemit pond for 44 days, and only now do I feel like plunging into the waters!
So this is me, I'm Peter Woolf.
That's a photo I took to show solidarity for bullying victims when a young girl took her own life in Australia after persistent bullying. I chose that photo as the photo of me, because one of my key beliefs is social justice.
I believe that each and every human being has a part to play in the greater picture. We just need to listen, open our eyes, and be present in the moment when it counts. My experience has been that I learn from other people at moments that I am least expecting it. I love those moments, something stirs in my soul.
One of my posts was an interview with Professor David Tacey, where we talked about recognising the Indigenous Australians as the spirit of our great country. We still have a long way to come in Australia in regards to recognition of our Indigenous Australians, but we are making some headway I think. Part of the reason I believe is a push for a sense of contemporary spirituality.
This is another area of interest for me, and I have been slowly working on a documentary putting together interviews with thought leaders in this area like @benleemusic. I have also begun to explore the esoteric and interviewed an Angel healer, Rachel. I still have many ideas for this project, but perhaps it will be stand alone interviews once I finalise the content I already have.
One of the reasons I hadn't progressed as far with my project as I would have liked, is that I never felt like I had found the platform for it. But Steemit has solved that issue! I have found on this platform people who are open and supportive on matters of the heart and spirit, and perhaps more than anything, it feels right to share on here.
I am passionate about men's health, and one of the aspects I would like to explore more on here is a rise of the divine feminine in contemporary spirituality. I once asked an Indian man what his faith was. He said he believed there was something, but he was sure it wasn't a white man with a beard! Coming from a man with Indian descent, I suddenly realised how absurd that notion was. Not that I had believed God was a white man with a beard. Earlier I had given some thought into why "God's" in the salvationist religions were all men - Jesus, Buddha, Allah. Why weren't we talking about Sophia or the divine feminine? Anyway, I digress, this is a topic I will explore more fully in time. I'm still exploring it myself and will enjoy sharing my learnings here. I do think that men need to adapt to the rise of the feminine in the next handful of years. Hopefully we release the patriarchal hold on society gracefully and accept a more balanced approach. We've had a turn guys, we achieved a lot, but we made a mess! It's time for some help from our feminine counterparts.
One of the other major components of my life is fitness. Although I present as overweight, I am reasonable fit and currently training for my first marathon in July this year. I was a swimmer in my younger years, and have completed two Olympic distance triathlons (that's 1.5km swim, 40km ride & 10km run for this playing at home) in the last 5 years. I also like to give back to my fitness community, volunteering as a Run Director at parkrun, and I am currently in discussions around creating another parkrun event in my local community.
I'm also a nerd having spent half a lifetime studying Science, and subsequently being involved in the business of science. The business side of things has given me great opportunities to travel all over the world - many places in America like Orlando, all over Europe including places I never thought to visit like Hungary, the United Arab Emirates, many places in Asia, and all over my fair country Australia. I am grateful that I have been given these opportunities to expand my horizons, and consciousness by seeing how similar people are around the globe. And that we have the same drivers for happiness and fulfillment through out the world. At least once our basic needs are met.
I love music, I used to sing as a child & young man, and I have recently started replaying the guitar. I'm rusty, but it feels good to sing again! I have aspirations of playing some covers of my favourite sonds and perhaps some originals on dlive at some stage in the future.
I feel like a decent chunk of my adult life has been spent in some kind of stupor. I had personal battles with my mental health dealing with anxiety and eventually depression. I'm not scared to discuss it anymore, and infact I feel like I have a lot to give from the learning process I have endured. I'm sure I will explore this topic in more depth in time as well. The good news is that at 40 years of age, I feel like I've finally worked out how this thing works, although then everything changes again! But that's part of the fun, isn't it?
But for all my interests and passions, you can see I like to keep nyself busy with a variety of activities - I've ignored the most important so far here on Steemit. And that's my family.
I have been blessed to have two beautiful children. First a daughter, whose birth was still one of the best days of my life.
Followed by a son who's early years were challenging, but now brings me joy every day (and challenges!)
You know, you start measuring your life against your children's somehow. You look back at their birth, and early childhood - and as an adult, it feels like yesterday. But in the blink of an eye they're no longer little kids. I did my best to be present every step along the way, I always have given my children the best of me. Because ultimately, they are the most important aspect of my life. I know everyone says that, but I would drop everything else, if it was necessary to support my children. I am so proud of how they are growing into respectful, inquisitive, capable human beings. If I achieve nothing else in my life, I hope I give them the platform to chase their dreams. I can't explain how much I love them. I just can't find the words. They give life meaning. They give my life meaning.
You know what I've left till last right? There's still one person I haven't spoken about at any length. I am so lucky that I have found a partner to travel this life with. My wife lights up my heart & soul. You know it's amazing, we loved each other from the night we met. And our love has only grown throughout the years. Yes there have been challenges, but we have always committed to stand by each other and work through the challenges coming out stronger for them.
This lady is the love of my life. She makes me a better man. We make a great team.
So I hope you don't mind me re-introducing myself, but it felt like I had left the most crucial part of my life from my story until now. This is me.