The government has run up a heck of a deficit while trying to make sure everyone is taken care of through this downturn. It’s the right thing to do. But what happens when we come out the other side?
My wife and I have a bit of an emergency. See, we didn’t go out and buy 4 gagillion rolls of toilet paper back when they were still on the shelves. We had enough, so we didn’t bother buying more on top of what we already had. Yet four weeks later, there are still never any toilet paper rolls for sale when we go to the store, and our inventory is starting to run dangerously low. So what does this have to do with The Platform?
It’s been a full week now since I’ve been into my office, and I’m already feeling the effects of working from home full-time. Some of them were things I anticipated; others caught me by surprise. Here are a few things I learned from my time at home.
The vibe in the office was eerie yesterday. Despite relatively few cases of coronavirus COVID-19 being confirmed in Ontario, people were spooked. I get it, too – it’s a weird feeling being in the office right after a formal pandemic is declared. But now is not the time for panic.
You know how snakes and lizards shed their skin in order to grow? I’m starting to think that people do that too. We’re prone to feeling stuck in our own skin, our current life situation, and it can start to feel claustrophobic after a while.
The term masculinity has somewhat of a negative connotation in today’s society: it’s usually accompanied by the word “toxic,” and conjures up outdated imagery of a Schwarzenegger-esque macho man who closes himself off emotionally and always has the right answer to everything. At the end of the day, masculinity is a term that is given meaning by the views of society, and there’s no denying that society’s definition of masculinity has (thankfully) shifted away from the stereotype I mentioned above. But what exactly has it shifted to?
Last week I learned of the passing of a close friend of ours named Lois. I write today’s post to remember him, and all he did for my wife, her family and I.
This is the second post in a series titled Sensei’s Stories - a collection of stories told by my sensei, each of which contains a valuable lesson. You can read the first post here.