Last week handed me a mix of reality checks: some subtle, some stinging and one or two that made me laugh out loud. They weren’t just about what was happening around me, but about what was happening inside me: listening to understand instead of defending, taking the front seat in my own life, building in the people who matter and remembering that liberty and justice are essential ingredients of lasting peace. Reality checks, after all, are really heart checks… with a hint of humour to keep us grounded.