Volume 17: Echo
Kaya from a hotel room in Margaret River.
Here's the vibe.
Thanks to those of you who reply to these. I genuinely enjoy reading your reflections on my reflections. If I haven't replied, please don't take it personally - sometimes your emails arrive faster than I can keep up with them.
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All In - Step off Script
Three weeks ago on Saturday the 13th I hosted All In on my Country, Boodjar Moorliny.
The purpose of this experiment was simple enough: connect people to Country through play. This was designed not as a workshop or training, but as an opportunity to step off script and rediscover who you are when you're not performing.
I designed quests.
Easy enough, these quests include:
> The path is lava. You can only walk on grass
> Compliment a stranger
> Find a bird and follow it for 5 minutes
Simple, effective, fun.
Approximately 30 people confirmed their attendance in the weeks leading up to the event, but in the end, only 5 players officially joined the Hyde Park server.
I arrive. It's Makaru here so it's crisp and cool. Overcast too.
My Country here is shaped almost like an oval.
Actually hang on, I'll just draw it for you (I know a lot of you are visual learners):
As you can see, I'm now positioned in the centre. It's not quite midday, and around 60 to 80 people are walking on Country. 65% walk in a clockwise direction, 20% anticlockwise, 15% are koorlingars and parents at the playground. This is typical for the time of day and the season. Hyde Park covers 16 hectares, meaning people are spread out evenly across the park.
For now, I'm simply waiting to see who Country sends my way.
Almost on cue, arriving right in the window I'd suggested, came a family: Nicole, Euen and their eight-year-old son, Zach.
When the family arrived and introduced themselves to me, I noted Zach was quite cautious - dare I say reluctant to be seen. Perhaps even a little shy.
My role was simple enough: just to explain that today isn't about completing objectives, it's about experiencing the moments. Everything is optional, and the only desired 'outcome' is to have fun.
So I have little folded strips with the different quests printed inside, sealed with a white bilby sticker placed in my hat.
I present the hat to the family.
Zach ruffles through them and pulls one out with some helpful coaxing from mum I should add.
His selected quest involved interacting with people. It seemed that Zach was not feeling very social as he immediately disengaged. Mum and dad opened their quests and then began sharing them around. It turned from individual quest lines to a group activity. In real time I am now watching a natural evolution of All In, and I am taking notes.
The question arose, "Can we choose another quest?".
I have at least a hundred unique quests and only 3 people with me, so I crunched the numbers and decided that choosing another quest was indeed a viable option.
Now the family is opening multiple quests and choosing the ones that speak to them.
During this moment, my attention turns to the map's periphery. About 50 meters away, my great friend Beau of the Iron Circle (whom I call Golden One) is near a tree engaged in advanced drilling exercises with Rex. Rex is a Malinois/German Shepherd and a proper military-grade animal. He's also the Goodest Boy.
Once the family wandered off on their own quests, I kaya'd the Golden One over. Turns out he's being cautious - Rex is currently going through intense training focused on commands and drills and constant stimulation, so he wasn't sure how friendly Rex would be around an eight-year-old. What if he jumped up in excitement and accidentally hurt the kid?
The focus shifted to Rex. He had the energy of text written in italics - always leaning forward, already anticipating what came next.
What came next was a gentle re entry of the family into the centre. They had likely completed or abandoned their current quest logs and were hungry for more, so now the Golden Ones unofficial quest became: Watch Rex carefully.
What happened next? Well, I'll let the photo speak:
All in all, we had a wonderful time.
So much so, in fact, that the hero of this story, Zach, has officially changed the structure of All In.
He offered quests of his own and sparked the idea of creating a communal quest hat, where participants can contribute quests for future players.
From now on, every All In will include Zach's quests, and the invitation is open to anyone who enters the game. The only rule? You can't contribute a quest until you've played one yourself.
I'm also excited to announce the next All In experience, happening on Saturday 11th July at 10:30am.
Want to know what quests Zach contributed?
I'm not going to tell you.
For that, you'll have to come along. Perhaps one of them will find you.
I'll give you one clue: one of his quests involves a dog.
Speaking of dogs, The Golden One and Rex are also All In on Saturday. They've now been promoted to official Questgivers.
As for me, I think I'll remain in Architect mode - welcoming people at the checkpoint, explaining the rules, and taking care of the housekeeping before sending everyone out into the game.
That feels right.
It means the experience begins to move beyond me, which has always been the intention.
After Acknowledgement
I’ve been working on the next piece of the Acknowledge This story.
Acknowledge This helps people move beyond the script. It gives people permission, confidence, language, and a different way of understanding what an Acknowledgement of Country can be.
But lately I’ve been sitting with another question:
What happens after acknowledgement?
Not just after the words are spoken.
After the workshop.
After the confidence arrives.
After someone realises, Oh. This can actually come from me.
That question has opened up a new body of work I’m calling After Acknowledgement.
The art is starting to change too. Anyone familiar with Acknowledge This will probably recognise the hand-drawn world I’ve been building — part classroom, part campfire, part old storybook, part map. But new characters are beginning to arrive.
Past reminds us that Acknowledgement did not begin as a corporate script. It began as cultural practice. Country has always been speaking. We have inherited songs, stories, and responsibility.
Present speaks to the person standing in the room now. The one holding the mic. The one who is nervous. The one who wants to get it right. Present says: make it your own, speak from the heart, and remember that connection matters more than perfection.
Emerging asks the harder questions.
What comes next?
How will you practise?
What will you contribute?
These three figures are becoming a way to teach time differently. Not as past, present and future sitting in separate boxes, but as voices in the same room. Past is not gone. Present is not neutral. Emerging is already listening.
That feels like the next threshold.
Acknowledge This helps people find the words.
After Acknowledgement asks what those words now require of us.
I'm running this publicly on 20 August, so grab yourself a spot here.
Kaya, Mirror.
Margaret River is a holy place. Any Perthian understands this on the atomic level and I am convinced it is the Boorna (tree) we should thank for its slowing and healing aura.
The Shire of Augusta has invited me to deliver an Acknowledge This experience, and to my delight I found out that this is indeed a community event. They even put out a notice in the local newspaper about the experience, resulting in a healthy-sized group, with attendees coming from all over, including girls from Margaret River Senior High School.
Near the end, I offer group reflections where people share their acknowledgements.
This one yorga speaks into the space.
She speaks poetry.
Actual poetry.
Her Acknowledgement of Country was a poem.
I can't remember the words but I remember the feeling, and it felt warm.
I carry a notebook for taking notes. On the front is a sticker I chose from The Esoterica Sticker Book. I bought the book for its artwork and symbolism - not because I'm particularly interested in astrology or tarot.
I chose this sticker simply because I was drawn to the artwork, and because it fit perfectly within the frame on the cover of my notebook. Check it out:
Afterwards this yorga and I go for a stroll and we identify her as a Djitti Djitti (Willy Wagtail). We then found a spot to order and drink some tea. She saw this sticker on my notebook and identified it as the 8 of Pentacles - a card in tarot lore meaning "the work".
I then showed her my cards. These are Reflection cards which I designed and use in 2 experiences I offer: Dabakarn Koorliny and Authentic You. I've used these cards a lot, and I notice patterns. For example, the most popular cards people choose are the Nurturer and the Empath. These two cards are also majority chosen by women. Men tend to choose more practical archetypes - the Builder, the Pragmatic, the Tactician etc. In fact, a Nurturer just emailed me photos of a recent experience at Djinningam Bo. Here's what the cards look like in action:
Hundreds of people have held these cards.
Thousands, if I include the prototype years.
No one has ever chosen Echo.
Until Margaret River.
This Djitti Djitti chooses the Echo.
I ask why she chose this, she responded, "I like the art".
Most people choose cards because of the words.
We discuss interesting topics - symbolism, words, culture, and meaning - and then we part ways. I told her I reckoned that my readers would enjoy her poem (you would), and she said she will write it up and send it to me.
That was days ago now.
I'm in no hurry.
Echoes come back eventually.
All in all, Wadarndi Boodjar filled me back up.
Jane put it into words better than I could:
"Thankyou Rhys, I learnt so much through your presentation style. Your hand drawn slides, your slow and reflective pace and your means of including everyone in the room. I thought you were incredibly gifted at managing the challenges, people were offering points of view that would have unsettled me as a presenter. However, you took your time, you acknowledged their contribution and responded with thought, sensitivity and clarity-no easy task. You're a gifted presenter, I hope to see you in action again in the future.."
I hope so too, Jane. Give me any excuse to come back to your Country.
Dassit
Modern Custodian is on the move.
This room has been home to thousands of drawings, countless workshops, late-night ideas, and more cups of tea than I care to admit.
It's where Acknowledge This grew into something much bigger than I ever imagined. It's where Dabakarn Koorliny was born. It's where the first sketches of After Acknowledgement appeared.
As I write this, almost everything has been packed into boxes. The walls are bare. The shelves are empty. The only thing left is a chair, a lamp, a few plants, and enough space to hear the echo.
There's something fitting about that.
Modern Custodian has always been about paying attention to place. It seems only right that this place gets a proper goodbye before the next one begins.
Thank you for walking alongside me through this chapter.
Here's to the next one.
Until next time,
Stay juicy.
- The Custodian
P.S. For my Perth people...
One of the lovely humans I've met this year is Carmel from the Befriend community.
Carmel joined one of our public Authentic You experiences earlier this year, and since then we've continued catching up over tea as we've discovered our work shares a similar spirit - creating spaces where people can slow down, reconnect, and simply be with others.
If you're looking for a gentle afternoon to make something with your hands, meet good people, and take a break from the pace of everyday life, she's hosting Creative Sanctuary in Darlington.
If that sounds like something your heart has been asking for, I'd encourage you to go along and show your support.
