(Image of street art taken in Melbourne CBD by me)
When we arrived in Melbourne as new migrants 18 years ago, I made a promise to myself:
I would do my best to immerse fully, make new friends, and savour new things.
I would avoid comparing and complaining about how things are different “here”.
I would not go out of my way to find people who looked and sounded like us – and then stick only to them.
My new country and new life would be a blank canvas — ready to be filled with colours, surprises, and all kinds of adventures.
In making these choices, I was deliberately moving away from the thinking and values that had shaped the first 36 years of my existence.
Yesterday, I led a small group of fellow introverts (all locals who have grown up in Melbourne) on a quest for treasures hidden in plain sight around the CBD, that we often walk past without realizing.
It’s what I’ve been doing since 2021 – finding new ways to help the introverted and highly sensitive explore and reconnect with their environment, themselves, and each other — in ways that are low-stimulation, that feel safe, and that satisfy their intellectual and creative curiosity.
Here’s where we went:
The National Opal Museum on Swanston Street, where we learned about dinosaurs, opal mining, and Australia’s contribution to the world’s opal supply.
Art galleries in the historic Nicholas Building (according to Wikipedia, the grandest example in Melbourne of the ‘Commercial Palazzo’ style), with lifts that may or may not decide to open for you.
Street art on Hosier Lane, AC/DC Lane, Duckboard Place, where we were invited to “practise radical empathy” and reminded that “we don’t need more; we need to BE more”. Who knew you could get a morning dose of inspiration just by contemplating street art?
“Rekospective: The Art of Reko Rennie” art exhibition at the Ian Potter Centre. I was struck by the artist’s intentional use of bright colours and contemporary materials to champion First Peoples living and working in ways that branch out from expectations and cultural practices, including the choice of the colour pink as a counterpoint to traditional notions of masculinity and manliness.
Lunch at ShanDong MaMa Mini on Flinders Lane, and coffee at Journal Cafe next to the City Library.
I am so grateful to call Melbourne home!