COVID-19 has caused many crises of faith: our faith in social norms and common decency (fights over toilet paper come to mind); in the economy; and in international commerce and travel – ideas that we took for granted have been rudely and perhaps indelibly undermined. But despite all this – and despite the health crisis; […]
The upside of being shocked to the core
The beauty about a non-fiction book – versus a news segment, documentary or even a podcast series – is that it has almost unlimited ability to explore the nuts and bolts behind what we end up seeing in news headlines. We learn about crucial characters, circumstances and preceding events, without which the main story would […]
Finding relief from the invisible enemy, the Australian way
We’ve all seen, and probably ourselves indulged in, the dark art of passive aggressiveness. Where we attempt to minimise our underlying state of aggression by refusing to break polite custom, and instead convey our disapproval through laconic participation: subtle facial expressions, expertly timed groans and heavy breathing. I think we may have found its closest […]
Finding purpose in chaos
Perhaps the greatest challenge presented by this virus is the rate at which the prevailing circumstances change. Humans might be extremely adaptable, but that doesn’t mean we like it. For the past week or two, it feels like every few hours I’m required to accept as part of my norm a new and otherwise extraordinarily […]
The power of self-reliance
During times when our society is fully operational and a full pay-packet the norm, it’s second nature for us to rely on the efforts of other people, ‘buying’ their services. We get someone to prepare our morning coffee; to make our dinner; to clean our house; to mow our lawn; to tell us how to […]