The thought balcony

  And Then, We Step Back In There was a time when standing on a stage frightened me. The lights, the audience, the microphone in my hand, the awareness that every word I spoke was being heard and watched. I would rehearse, prepare and rehearse some more, hoping that preparation could protect me from the unexpected. Years later, the stage has become almost ordinary. Teaching has taken me there countless times. Hosting school events has become a part of my professional life. I have been trusted by my school to anchor and conduct programmes, and somewhere along the way, the fear disappeared. I learnt to speak, think on my feet, manage transitions, deal with the unexpected and, most importantly, stay composed. Or so I thought. Today, something happened. It was a small moment. A moment that probably lasted no more than a few seconds. But when you are the person standing on the stage, a few seconds can feel strangely long. Something in the flow of the programme changed. My co-hos...

  The Illusion of Certainty Sometimes, all it takes is a single word to make you pause. A few days ago, I heard the term situationship . I had a rough idea of what it meant, but the more I thought about it, the less interested I became in the word itself. Instead, I found myself wondering what it says about the way we approach relationships today. Not just the younger generation. All of us. Perhaps a situationship is not simply the absence of commitment. Perhaps it is a reflection of something deeper. A fear of making the wrong choice. A hope that if we analyse enough, question enough, and understand enough, we might somehow protect ourselves from getting hurt. It sounds sensible. After all, shouldn’t we know the person we are choosing? Shouldn’t we recognise red flags, understand emotional needs, and make thoughtful decisions? Of course we should. But somewhere along the way, I wonder if we have quietly crossed a line. We no longer just get to know people. We evaluate t...