As soon as I legally could, I loved going down to the pub with my friends to watch the football.
Often, I would find myself chatting to the local old blokes. It was nice to get a sense of the ropes from the regulars, those who had been around a long time and understood the ins and outs of how it all worked.
Soon enough, I had spent plenty of Sunday afternoons having a beer and exchanging a couple of embellished stories with the older men.
More often than not, the seasoned group would try to pass on some life lessons to the young guys. We were all ears.
They had a forum to pass on some knowledge, and perhaps, if anything, it was an attempt to make sure the generations to follow didn't make the same mistakes they had. I remember hearing lots of 'one-liners', however, there was one particular phrase that was repeated more than most.
"Look after your back", they said.
That was certainly the most emphasised saying I heard.
It seemed like every older guy had a sore back.
No matter how many times I heard it, not once did that advice ever sink in.
I was certainly young, ignorant, and arrogant enough to think that, while I enjoyed the chat, this wasn't relevant to me.
I remember thinking, my back doesn't hurt now, why would I start taking special care of something that isn't a problem?
Now I am approaching 30 and, unsurprisingly, my back hurts. I should have listened; those guys were definitely on to something. Hindsight is a powerful thing.
On reflection, there are some techniques we can employ as a society to look after our proverbial backs.
I am not talking about bending with your knees, I am talking about valuing the diverse knowledge systems of the world's oldest continuing culture.
I had the pleasure of spending a few days last week with Wiradjuri woman Aunty Yvonne Hill on Awabakal land at the University of Newcastle.
I was lucky enough to participate in some professional learning called Aboriginal Pedagogies, formally known as 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning.
Throughout the training, Aunty Yvonne sprinkled in nuggets of gold in the form of life advice, and it transported me back to being at the pub as a young man, sitting down and trading stories.
Aunty Yvonne spoke about the importance of cultures coming together to share stories.
Aunty Yvonne clarified that culture is not purely your ethnicity, it is where you belong, and how many people belong to many different communities.
Honouring the time that it takes to share stories with other groups is how we gain an understanding of the lives of people who belong to communities that are not our own.
Importantly, listening to each other's stories is a window to grasping the values that underpin a community that you may not belong to.
This is what Aunty Yvonne described as the 'cultural interface', the idea that there is a place where cultures can come together, share stories and exchange knowledge.
Often stories explain values, and values are the rationale for actions.
After stories have been exchanged, individuals can return to their respective communities and use that knowledge to empower those around them.
Hearing a story that does not belong to your community does not take away anything from your community, it strengthens it.
As a country known as Australia, we are relatively young.
Though, on this continent, we have the oldest continuing culture living right here, these people have looked after this place for more than 60,000 years.
I hope that we are not young, ignorant, and arrogant enough to think we don't have anything to learn from the rich, unique, and vibrant cultures of this beautiful place.
Like me as a young man not valuing the lessons learned from generations before me, we as a nation need to stop and listen to the voices of our First Peoples.
Our future, and backs, depend on it.
Jake MacDonald is a proud Ngarabal man and Cultural Capability Partner at the University of Newcastle
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