Monday, April 7, 2025 The Wisdom of Whisky Character isn’t just about resilience or strength. It’s also about self-awareness, about knowing when to pull back and let time do its work Blogs Newsletters National By Quentin Steen, Representative/BC Member Education Coordinator It was supposed to be a night like any other: Sunday night football, the perfect stage for a showdown between the Packers and the Hawks in Seattle. I’d planned to be there in person, but life had other ideas, and my plans unraveled like a thread in a worn jersey. Maybe it was for the best—my last trip to that city didn’t exactly leave me eager for an encore. So, I settled for the glow of the television, and the hopes that my beloved Packers plucked the Hawks of their feathers. The game kicked off, and so did the commercials—loud, brash, and eager to grab attention. Then came the Gibson whisky ad, cutting through the noise with its measured simplicity: “It takes ages to develop character,” the narrator intoned, each word steeped in gravitas. The amber liquid swirled in its glass, a quiet reminder of patience, tradition, and time. I couldn’t help but think how true that statement was, not just for whisky but for the people who drink it. If it takes ages to develop character in a bottle, how much more in the human heart? And what happens when that same whisky gets the better of us—when the smooth comfort in the glass turns into chaos, wreaking havoc on our mental health and well-being? It’s a sobering thought, no pun intended. We admire the whisky for its age, its complexity, and the journey it’s taken to get to our shelves. But do we afford ourselves the same grace? Do we recognize the years, the struggles, and the triumphs that shape us, or do we let a bad night—or a bad trip to Seattle—define us? Maybe it was the excitement of the Packers domination, or maybe it was the quiet truth of that ad, but something shifted in me. I realized that character isn’t just about resilience or strength. It’s also about self-awareness, about knowing when to pull back and let time do its work. And sometimes, it’s about staying home when the universe nudges you to do so. Even if the Packers would have lost that night, it wouldn’t have felt like a loss to me (maybe a slight exaggeration). Instead, it felt like a reminder: of the power of time, the importance of patience, and the quiet beauty of letting both whisky and life reveal their character in their own time. Quentin Steen is a certified mental health first aid instructor for the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Get your BRAIN right and your MIND will follow! 3 Mental Health Resources to Help You If you or someone you know is struggling with a mental health issue, CLAC has a number of resources and interactive tools available to help you at My Health and Wellness. Stronger Minds features videos and quick reads from mental health experts, activities to help you gain resilience, and ask-an-expert videos in response to questions. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) provides accessible, reliable, and professionally produced resources on an array of health topics including (but not limited to): addictions, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, depression, etc. You might be interested in RVilla Caledonia Retirement Living Employees Unanimously Ratify New Contract 15 May 2025 Using Technology to Further the Cause of Progressive Trade Unionism 15 May 2025 Haebler Construction Employees Unanimously Ratify New Collective Agreement 14 May 2025 Valley Mechanical Employees Unanimously Ratify New Three-Year Contract 14 May 2025