I think the best part about Australia is its potential to grow.

It is an open space in which we can look at our past, face our current struggles and recognise our potential to become a world leader in the active pursuit of a society that not only tolerates, but deeply embraces diversity. More and more people are moving around the globe (due to capacity or necessity) and we need to creatively rise and ‘mine’ the rich potential in this meeting of cultures. Rather than feeling threatened, how can we evolve in the mirror of the ‘other’, so as to extract the ‘treasures’ that enrich our humanity? Australia’s multiculturalism needs develop beyond rhetoric, to become a lived day-to-day practice.

The root of Australia is Aboriginal, the Aboriginal people are the traditional owners of this land. We need to acknowledge our history so as to move forward.

There have been and will continue to be waves of migration, as people from around the globe make Australia their home. Aside from the food and culture, these communities also bring their stories and knowledge and I feel enriched as I learn about the world through their eyes. Australians like to travel abroad and I feel our ‘multiculturalism’ is a way to keep to travelling whilst being at home, how exciting! Given our history and the inevitable movement of people, we need to be up to speed with a changing world, so that any lingering notion of a ‘white Australia’ (as though we have more rights to be here) needs to completely disappear. Rather we need to ‘mine’ the true potential of multiculturalism in this great democratic country and let the treasures shine! How can we learn to accommodate, and liberate the fear that ‘there isn’t enough to go around!’ Choosing to share will nurture the generous spirit of Australia.

Australia is a place where people can reinvent themselves, why not!

How can we nurture, appreciate and cultivate this potential? One of Australia’s ethics is to ‘take it easy’, to relax, so let’s relax, life’s too short. If we are more relaxed and confident in ourselves, then we can really appreciate difference rather than being threatened by it. Australia is known as a spacious land, may this spaciousness be felt and practiced as an inner space. I feel that fear closes us in ourselves and therefore diminishes our space, which taints the spirit of who we are and we cannot see the vast skies of this land. Being Australian is about being confident enough to open up and share the beauty of this incredible land!