I’m Rachael Peedom, Founder of Bee Inspired. I’m also a wife to a supportive (and very patient) husband Dave, and mother to 3 delightful children, Charlotte, George and Hannah. My family is my rock, my pride and joy, and my world.
My working life began in the airline industry (first as a pilot, then in airline operations). I then moved into the world of Luxury travel, which morphed into Meetings and Events Management in the world of Corporate Travel. After following my heart and chasing my future husband to Singapore, I found myself working and travelling around Asia in the corporate travel sector, rarely stopping to draw breath. So many new friends to make, amazing places to travel and so much fun to be had!
Giving birth to 3 children in Singapore helped to put things in perspective; and once I started suffering some health conditions, (undoubtedly, related to stress and lifestyle), I began to realise the importance of slowing down. A life-changing trip to Bhutan (one of the most spiritual and beautiful places on the planet) shifted my focus towards meditation and mindfulness and helped me realise the importance of spending as much of each day doing what I loved.
As I began considering the prospect of moving back to Australia, I started pondering all the things Australia has that the tiny tropical island of Singapore did not…..SPACE…for farming, for native forests and national parks, for locally grown fruit & veg, minimal pollution, an abundance of native flowers and wildlife, fresh water sources from lakes and rivers, abundant marine life, which in turn feed our birds…and us!
Conversely, in Singapore, people are highly dependent on imported good and produce – almost everything comes from overseas! There is very little space for farming, very few national parks, water “bought” from Malaysia, and very little marine life left in the over-fished waters. People spend most of the days in high-rise air-conditioned apartments, offices and shopping centres.
So after 8 years in Asia, my return to Australia with a husband and 3 children was, undoubtedly, the most pivotal point in my life. We had space again! And we also had the opportunity and fortune to start new lives. To reinvent ourselves. To focus on our passions: nature, the ocean, beaches, the outdoor life. All the things I had taken for granted in my former life in Australia.
It wasn’t long before the bees were calling me….but I’ll save that story for another blog post….
In a nutshell, I wake every day grateful for the beautiful country we live in, for freedom, for space, for nature that has an opportunity to thrive…if we allow it to.