Ripples and Reflections II

About the Book

A much younger version of myself reading this book would be astounded. How could I have written these reflections? For quiet reflection was not the stuff of my childhood. In a large extended Dutch/Australian family with endless uncles, aunts, and cousins, being heard was a challenge. They were lovely but loud, and everyone had an opinion. This was a fun family to grow up in, and I have no doubt I was as loud and opinionated as everyone else. So how did I become a quietly reflective person from such boisterous beginnings? Using the well-worn analogy of life as a journey through time and space, I found myself in an amazing time and space. I was thirty-four when I took up a position as a teacher at a Catholic high school called Chevalier College. I was no model Catholic, I but felt my values could align comfortably with those of the college. But let’s face it: faith was always going to be a problem for me. I could have ended up a round peg in a square hole, but the generous staff accepted my recalcitrance with grace and inclusiveness. Having long been an armchair philosopher, I found myself in this wonderful, reflective environment and began to ruminate about life, the universe, and all that. I appreciated the rituals and symbols of Catholic faith, but the repetitive, supernatural nature of the language seemed to me to be the very thing that excluded and alienated many students. I wanted to drag spiritual wisdom out of the cloisters and let it inhabit everyday life. To do this, I started to write reflections about everyday things, domestic life, relationships, family. Much to my surprise, rather than being shunned, my humble ponderings were warmly received. So began my career as a cherished philosophical windbag.

About the Author

Tony van Wensveen was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1958. After studying visual arts at Sydney College of the Arts and Education at Sydney University, he worked as a teacher in various state schools, before moving to the Southern Highlands, near Sydney, where he continues to teach visual arts at Chevalier College.