Genuine problem that needs solving/debate/discussion.

Answers are almost always too safe.

I’ve found it hard to remember how to play after having my kids, and wonder why I ‘grew out’ of it. I’ve loved relearning it but it’s been hard. I think we’d probably be nicer to each other if we kept more of our sense of wonder and joy and curiosity.

Oh, come now: 99 problems, & getting hitched still 1…!?!

Most thinking persons will say that humanity is in crisis. We have a modern obsession with looking to the future for answers to solve this crisis. If we accept the view that we are not very evolved from the ape man then I think its fair to argue that what is inhibiting our ability to problem solve our state of crisis is simply data overload. I think the answers lay behind us in the rich history of the last five thousand years. This we can mine for answers but the future is never accessible to us.

I think spoken word, performance poetry and poetry slam has underrated potential that I want to see thrive in Australia’s literary landscape.

As a first world country, Australians experience a high quality of life. Yet everybody suffers and hurts, and could our experience of suffering, through illness, abuse, loss, break-up, poverty, discrimination, fear etc be put into a different framework where it is recognised for what it can bring and enable, individually and on a bigger scale? The biggest national identities of white Australia seem to be based on and through hardship and suffering.

I currently have a family member who is dying from cancer… and I recently had a friend who died prematurely. Our rituals are so brief. Other cultures morn for days, weeks and sometimes months in ritualistic ways. Is it the threat to economic functioning or is it truly better to just get on with it?

Our society professes to be concerned about animal welfare but sanctions very different treatment of animals according to their perceived utility and the vested interests that benefit from their use. The law as it stands reflects this contradiction. As a result millions of animals suffer routinely, whether it be for live export, domestic agricultural use, feral animal control, research or entertainment purposes. Not even companion animals are immune from suffering; treated as disposable property and with little or no restriction on their breeding and sale, hundreds of thousands are euthanased every year in Australia. All of this is both inhumane and dishonest. Either we believe in the humane treatment of animals or we don’t. If the latter, let’s be honest about it; if the former, we need significant legal change. A good start would be the creation of independent statutory bodies to administer and enforce animal welfare laws instead of the current primary industries departments with their conflicts of interest.

Because I don’t understand people’s obsession with sharing their usually boring lives and opinions.

I struggle with the balance between activities that aren’t enjoyable in the short-term but promise a payoff. While the payoff can be intense, it’s usually short-lived. Why not spend the whole time being generally content, rather than chasing highs?