-
Rekindle – or shelve – the dreams of youth?
Ah, youthful dreams. Our whole live are ahead of us. We haven’t had to make choices that narrow the field, so the sky is the limit in terms of what we might be and do…. If you reader my blog regularly, you probably know that I spent the last year of my high school days living in Istanbul and that I fell in love with the city and its people. Of course, those exchange years come with an end date, and I knew I had to come home at the end of it, despite how difficult that was. I had… Read more…
-
Lament for innocence lost
Canada lost a little bit of her innocence this week. On two separate occasions in just three days, in two provinces, two military men, two lives taken. Add to that our Parliament Buildings breached, guns fired, people injured and a gunman shot and killed. Were they related? Were they related to Canada’s recent decision to join the international coalition launching air strikes against Islamic State militants? Homegrown extremists is a new phenomenon here. Or was today an unfortunate copycat by someone with a mental illness?I don’t want to jump to conclusions, as there is much yet to uncover. I’m sure… Read more…
-
Living safely in the shallows: What’s the cost?
I’ve been thinking recently about relationships and musing about how the advent of social media has affected them. Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and others have all it possible to peek into people’s lives; to reconnect, however briefly with people we left behind. In years gone past, you would simply move on and occasionally wonder, ‘‘what ever happened to….’’. So we have hundreds of virtual friends, instead of a handful of “in real life” ones. But are we trading shallow – and potentially easier – online friendships for deeper, more difficult ones? And in doing so, are we unintentionally cutting ourselves off… Read more…
-
Confessions of an introvert
I work in a profession that demands interaction. Advising senior executives, providing guidance to managers, helping all kinds of people tell their stories well, answering media questions, being the public face of the company at events … some weeks it’s a real whirlwind. A perfect job for an extrovert. Except I’m not. Confession time – my name is Katherine, and I am an introvert. I don’t know how many who know me at work would necessarily see that. I’ve worked hard over the years to battle that side of me, and to push myself to be more social and outgoing.… Read more…
-
Out of the gate
Omphaloskepsis. That’s Greek for navel gazing, something I’ve done a lot of in the past six months or so. I’ve been wondering about shaking things up in my life and doing something different — or more meaningful — and what that might look like in the coming years. It’s time to stop being so inwardly focussed, and to share ideas and ask for opinions. Many years ago, I had dreams of seeing the world, learning about other cultures and really giving back. As so often happens, practicality got in the way of those dreams, and in the intervening years, I’ve… Read more…
