My name is Hyren Peterson, I am 27 years old male from Upington, South Africa. Over the past 5 years since writing poetry for Fundza, I have had enriching life experiences which have added layer upon layer to my life, which I would like to share. My faith in Jesus Christ is single driver of my being, without Him, my life would have no meaning. I have traveled extensively since I last wrote for Fundza and have lived in Singapore and Philippines for 1 year in each country respectively. I am now based in Philippines enjoying it and missing so much about the South African culture, our heritage, who we are and the potential we have as a country.

If there is one thing I have learned during this period where I have stayed from home is that we always miss that which we do not have, and living intentionally, slowly, living ‘deeply’, beyond the surface and beyond social media, if you have the patience to pull back the veil, you will find depth and character, complexity and beauty in each human being.

I was born curious. A deep curiosity about people is what made me a successful HR Business Partner for Unilever (which is how I got to travel South-East Asia). I am blessed in that my curiosity is a gift, when you are curious about people, you withhold judgement, you have to if you look deeper, and the deeper you look the darker it gets.

I love my job, I sometimes feel like I am one of very few people who are doing what they love, I get to live out my Purpose: “The Human Kinstsikoroi: to find the gold seam in others”. Kinsukoroi is the Japanese art of pottery, a valuable piece of pottery that breaks, but because it is so valuable, even broken, it is repaired with gold, and the piece is then considered more beautiful for having been broken, and we have all had these moments in our lives.

We all know failure and disappointment, if you don’t, you’re the poorer for it. This purpose statement stems from my own personal failures and having used those experiences to make something beautiful out of it, I now want to help people do the same with their experiences with failure.

My life’s work now is to exalt my King Jesus in all I do, to live humbly, authentically, and with vulnerability – as Matthew 5:5 says “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”