Some Realities Stay Under the Radar. But Should They?

I recently visited Athens on a business trip. Between meetings and a tech summit, I reconnected with old colleagues and met new ones.

It’s always fascinating how stepping into a different environment shifts your perspective. They say we take action only when our narrative is impacted—and it’s true.

Athens found me more sensitive in the face of reality.

Between a rich dinner in Kolonaki, a heartfelt "thank you" to a musician I grew up with his music, and a heartbreaking scene at Syntagma Square—a mother reading bedtime stories to her two little ones, tucked into a bed of marble—I found myself unsettled.

Most things happen under the radar. And when they do, our narrative remains unchanged. Because if we don’t see it, it doesn’t impact us.

But that night, the taste of my expensive Negroni kept bringing me back to that mother. I couldn’t sleep.

The next morning, I returned to the same spot. Only to find she wasn’t alone. Other mothers sat on the same cold pavement, their babies wrapped in layers too thin for the February air. Waiting. Hoping.

A guilty thought crossed my mind—I wished I could unsee it. But we don’t get to choose what we see. We only choose how we respond.

Athens is a beautiful place. But it makes you appreciate everything you have—and everything you wish no one had to endure.

So I ask you: What do you do when your narrative is impacted? What is your resolution?