30 years ago

It's been thirty years since this photo was taken - I've not changed a bit.

Well, maybe I've changed just a little, but not very much.

Ok, possibly more than a bit. Way more than a bit probably.

I've actually changed a whole lot...but for the better. So I'm still me, but changed...for the better.

Oh, in case you're not quite sure, I'm the one holding the bolt action 30-06 rifle.

I was twenty five years old when this shot was taken; out hunting with a mate after being away from home doing my job for a fairly long time.

We were above the New South Wales/Queensland border directly north of the small outback town of Bourke and between the two map-dot outback towns of Cuttaburra and Cunnamulla in Queensland. The massive cattle station is about 1,300 kilometres from where I live and we'd headed there for a week to do some pig hunting and camping - it seems like a lifetime ago.

I was looking for something specific the other day - a photo that I wanted to show my girlfriend from back when I was a young chap, and I found this one. I didn't show her as she'd not appreciate the dead pig image but showed her a few others that she found quite amusing and pleasing - mostly because I've not changed all that much to look at in those intervening years which is due to a good lifestyle I guess, and good genes from my parents.

It made me think about what had changed and I realised so many things have changed over time that it's difficult to list them all - it was easier to list what hadn't changed as there's less of them.

I'm not going to go into it all, but things like my work ethic, dedication to duty, discipline, sense of honour and integrity, my ability to take on difficult things and to protect that which needs protecting have remained the same as has my ability to stay the course but pivot when required; these things and others endure or have become more refined and honed. I'm also pleased to say my sense of humour is largely unchanged, maybe it's a more dry type of humour now though - my girlfriend tolerates it well thankfully.

Thinking on the changes time has wrought in me and what's remained the same, I think they all sort of come together well and are driven by getting older and experiences over time.

I wonder about yourselves though.

What changes have you seen in yourself over time and what has remained the same? Have the changes been positive or negative and, willful or by chance and are there things about you that you wish had stayed the same? Feel free to comment about your personal thoughts on it or just comment generally on this post if you'd like to.