Flight UA870 - a flight of new beginnings

As we pulled out of the gate and onto the runway, perhaps I should have been excited or anxious or a mixture of both for the adventure and new beginnings that lay ahead for me in my new life in New York city. 

Yet, strangely, I was not preoccupied with any such emotion.

As I sat in my seat, I looked out of the passenger’s window beside me and I simply sighed

I sighed out frustration, disappointment and yearning for a country that I loved. I sighed out years of wishes and hopes that had not yet been fulfilled for people that I cared for and respected.

But then, I breathed in. I breathed in a new sense of hope and possibility for the future of Australia. For a people that deserved more. For a nation that could be more.

Yes, I have been one for saying that we have lost the art of celebration, yet equally I have felt that we needed to step up. I have said repeatedly that each of us need to accept that we have a responsibility, an obligation, to play our part in ensuring not only the future prosperity of Australia but for a much brighter and rewarding future for those who don’t live on The Island. We simply must take into account, that inspite of our location, that we are not disconnected from the global economy. Importantly, we need to acknowledge that we are not disconnected from the shared welfare of the inhabitants of this world and I don’t mean just the people.

At a time when the world is suffering disruption through innovation, upheaval from human injustice and neglect, I found that as our wheels lifted off the ground, that I breathed in a second time very deeply. For I could see something much greater than the moment that was now. And so I enjoyed the draw of this breath, one that promised a much brighter future for those who dared to care.