On The Precipice...

 

Hi!

We're here. On the precipice of real change.

A shift away from the divisive, angry rhetoric, gravitating ever toward kindness, acceptance, and inclusivity. 

Citizens across the planet are making their voices heard. Authoritarian ideologies are being rebuffed. Those who are trying to force entire swaths of people back into hiding, stripped of hard-fought-for rights, are being pushed back. 

There is so much talk about money and the means by which it flows around the planet. As a rational, 59-year-old woman who has run, and continues to run, a few small businesses, I fully understand the importance the economy plays in conjunction with how the world works. I get it.

That being said, it hurts my heart to think that the world seems to have come to a place where money is the ONLY thing that matters. 

How did it get to be the lonely occupant at the top of the list of everything that's deemed crucially important?

Think of the list of billionaires, worldwide, and then take a minute to contemplate just how much wealth exists among those few humans.

Then, just for a moment, think about how many humanitarian problems could be fixed by a mere fraction of the wealth they control.

Then, think about what they choose to do with their money instead. 

They seem to really enjoy patting themselves on the back while they take ego trips to space while simultaneously refusing to pay their workers a living wage. 

They pretend to be heroes, dreaming about donning a cape and saving humanity by moving to Mars, when using their money to help fix what's wrong with the planet we already call home would be way cheaper and save everybody, not just the privileged few that will have the money to make it on to his Red Planet guest list. 

I have always regarded money as a means to live. Not a goal for living.

Don't get me wrong, If you are in a position to live a comfortable life, you absolutely should! Take the trips, buy the fun things, enjoy your life! You work hard, you should get to enjoy the spoils of your labour without guilt! There is nothing wrong with that in the least!

I just think everyone should fit into the 'live a comfortable life' category.

Let me clarify... my definition of comfortably

You are able to pay your rent/mortgage every month, on time.

You are able to pay your utility bills every month, on time.

You are able to buy groceries without counting every penny.

You are able to have transportation.

You are able to spend time doing fun things that you enjoy.

You are able to, each month, put a little money aside in case of an emergency.

You are able to go to a dentist regularly.

You are able to get your eyes checked and buy glasses when needed.

You are able to cover your prescriptions. 

You are able to buy the things you need and maybe a few you don't. 

You are able to wear what you like without harassment.

You have complete autonomy over your own body.

You are able to do all of these things working a 40-hour week.

A 40-hour work week.

For far too many, 'living comfortably' feels like an unattainable pipe dream. 

We are on a precipice...

I believe we are moving toward equity, equality, and finding ways to make living wages the norm.

Overworking the population is not sustainable. It's unnecessary. 

This is so much more important than making living on Mars possible. 

This isn't working.

Sometimes we need to implement tools to help make things more even, sometimes we need to adjust old school ways of doing things to improve them.

We aren't stuck here.

We got this.

Elbows Up!

What Lies Ahead...

 

 

Hi!

Happy Spring Holiday! 

Whatever you celebrate, whenever, however, or with whomever you celebrate it, I hope it's everything you want it to be. 

If you can, grab some time with those you love. It's important, even if it doesn't seem like it in the moment. Take these opportunities to fill the memory banks for everyone to draw from down the road. You never know when seemingly inconsequential moments will become core memories without you even being aware. 

On a more serious note....

The human cost of making history is all in vain if we refuse to learn from it. 

I was watching a movie based on real events, which took place right in the middle of the second world war. If it had not been for the willingness of a few to have the courage to make good trouble, their ability to pivot on a dime to create solutions to unforeseen problems, and the guts to follow through, even when all seemed lost, that particular war could have, and likely would have, ended with a very different outcome.

I've seen a few documentaries and movies about other situations that were different, but just as critical to the outcome.

It wasn't any one event that tipped the scale in the favour of what was right, but hundreds, maybe thousands, and likely a lot more we will never know of, that brought us through that darkness.

Those who lived it, and are still here, have not lost their fighting spirit. They find themselves in front of microphones, shouting the truths they shouldn't need to. Fighting fights they won years ago, just to watch the need to fight again grow from ignorance, greed, and stupidity. 

Too many use the guise of public service to obtain and retain power that was never meant to be theirs to begin with. They soon discover what the position they have been entrusted with can do to enrich themselves, instead of the lives of those they are supposed to serve. For those who develop a palate for the corrupted fruit, the whole thing becomes about keeping the power they have twisted, forgetting all about the people who put them in that fancy office in the first place.

Don't get me wrong, I do believe there are some who become public servants for the right reasons, and actually live the job, doing what they can to help the most people they can. I do believe there are still good people, decent people, who stay kind and humble.

But....

There are those who carry ill-intent from the start. Their true colours eventually come to light.... always. Sometimes, they are so transparent that it's obvious from the jump. Sometimes, it takes a while for the shine to dim, and the varnish to wear thin enough to see what's underneath. Sometimes, they are simply void of conscience and are able to tell you what they think you want to hear to your face while they vote against everything their constituents believe in behind closed doors.

History is screaming at us to be aware of what can lie ahead.

If we can't muster the willingness, courage, the ability to pivot to find solutions, and the guts to follow through, we might be looking at an outcome our future generations will regrettably have to live through. All because some refuse to accept what is in plain sight.

This is no longer about having different political views. It isn't now about the bathrooms, or pronouns any more that it was about drinking fountains and bathrooms back then. 

Isn't it strange how border protection is so incredibly important unless it's the border of a country they want to annex, take over, control? As far as they are concerned, other peoples' boundaries don't count... shocker.

We need leaders on the world stage that will stand up for human rights. Let me clarify. The rights of ALL humans to live in peace without threat of extinction. 

If those who fought before us hadn't been as brave, as resourceful, as full of ingenuity, the evil entity with the tiny mustache, and broken soul would not have stopped at Europe. Neither will that mad psychopathic troll stop at Ukraine.

Look how he's convinced the world's idiots that up is down, the sky is green and the grass is blue. He says to lick his boots and they can't do it fast enough, shit and all.  The wannabe King Cheeto has been over the Madman's barrel for so long, taking up space in the house of cards in which the Madman allows him to dwell. 

The wannabe King has managed to dupe those who are somehow, incredibly, more dimwitted than he, that he is some mastermind, some kind of godfather, someone who rewards unwavering loyalty with... ummm.... yeah... those who have been loyal usually get jail time, destroyed reputations and souls lost to the abyss. 

Like the Madman, he uses people until they aren't useful to him anymore... then they cease to exist or they become his sworn enemy, and he abuses every power possible to destroy their lives.

So, not one single person around him, no matter in what capacity, ever comes out on the other side of the engagement for the better. 

I haven't been able to find a single one. 

So when leaders, or potential leaders from countries outside of the USA show a wanting, a willingness, to appease this moron, cozy up to him, or his ideals, voters need to run and vote the other way. 

We, as humanity, can not afford for a majority of the world to be run by madmen and wannabe kings. We became democracies for a reason. Let's keep it that way.

Elbows Up!

Sure Signs Of Spring...

 

Where I call home, there are two Springs. One, according to the calendar, began March 20th... then there is REAL spring, which pretty much kicked in a couple of days ago.

Signs? Huge equipment, of various purposes being hauled down our highways, puddle jumping, and the deafening, glorious, symphony of the returning geese.

The spring this year is especially significant.

Our neighbours to the South are being led by The Mad Hatter, minus the heart and intelligence. They seem to be actively trying their level best to turn what was a pretty decent place into somewhere Deadpool would dare not tread. Nothing means anything down there anymore. I mean, when you tariff penguins...

In Canada, our own Country's integrity is on the line. Our National election is only about 2 1/2 weeks away, and the misinformation is coming at us hard and fast from every direction. Everything from low-quality AI photos, and non-existent excerpts from books, to clickbait articles based on nonsense. 

This election is so incredibly important. The world, thanks to the bloated Cheeto down south, is in complete upheaval. We are having to find new paths, create new partnerships, forge new paths forward, as one big one we have relied on in the past has ceased to exist. We need a serious person with the experience, education, emotional maturity, and empathetic decency required to take the helm, ushering us through this gauntlet.

We need someone who has FULL security clearance. I mean, you would think that would be a minimum requirement for applying for the position. 

I sincerely wish more people would be willing to dig beyond headlines, find actual facts, and then be willing to believe them when they do.

Please be willing to shift your thinking. Please be willing to really take in and accept new information. Please be willing to get your information from different sources than you usually do. 

Don't be held prisoner by rhetoric created only to stoke fear and hate. 

Our country isn't broken. We aren't perfect, but we are doing pretty damn well. Do yourself the favour of looking up official world statistics. 

It's our responsibility, as voters, to educate ourselves with actual facts, leaving tabloid newspapers, websites, and digital articles in the dust. Just look up which forms of news are historically, and currently, the most accurate. There are several, read them all. You will get a much more full perspective on the issues at hand. And please remember that every MP's voting record is public information. 

Accuracy is so much more important than just feeding ourselves what we want to hear. 

Let's get rid of the American-style politics that has seeped into our atmosphere. 

Let's do this. We got this. 

Elbows Up!

Fairytales Aren't Facts...

 

Hi!

When it comes to how people perceive the world, the lens from which they do so, is, of course, paramount.

As a country, we have a very important decision coming up at the end of the month, and there are very differing opinions on what decisions should be made. That is how democracies work, so debate is important.

I do think it's incredibly important to be fully informed about your decisions. Information that forms it should come from multiple sources.

Public record of how our representatives vote on different bills, for example. What do they support? What don't they? How do they talk about our most vulnerable? How do they plan on treating them moving forward? 

Are they able to fully embrace the position they seek. Have they been cleared, as everyone before them has, so they can receive intelligence at the level they will need to? If not, then why?

Who do they admire? With whom do they share ideology? 

There are a ton of ways to make sure we get unbiased information, but in this day and age, it does take some effort.

The algorithms feed us a stream of what we already agree with.

It's time to ask ourselves the hard questions and do our due diligence to find factual answers.

Why do I agree with the ideology of the person I want to support?

Do I actually agree with it when I know all the facts?

If I'm dead set against someone, why?

Am I still dead set after I go digging?

What is the factual track record of each?

The fairytales fed to us aren't facts. Advertisements are just that. Ads. Just like ads for new cars. The ad piques your interest, but then, just like with any big decision, you check them out. You look at reviews, the track record of the company, have a look at their ethics, you look at all of it before you commit. 

Personally, I believe we live in a country where its citizens genuinely care for each other.

I believe we live in a country where we won't watch kids go hungry, or without the help they need to thrive in education, in every aspect of health, and childcare.

I believe we live in a country driven by empathy and compassion. 

I believe we live in a country that understands that equity, inclusion, and diversity allows brilliance to come through no matter who you are, the circumstances in which you grew up, or where you come from.

I believe we live in a country that will foster strong generational leadership. Leadership that will have the education, life experience, and skill sets to take us forward in the best way possible. For that to happen, everyone needs access to the same level of opportunity. 

So, between now and the end of the month, we need to ask ourselves... and then really do our homework to answer ourselves honestly. 

Who, in this, do we want to commit our decision to, and why? 

What, in the grand scheme, big picture, are the issues that are most important to me? Why? Who addresses those in a way I can get behind?

Please don't make your decision on what you THINK you know. Find out for sure. 

There's time. 

Just leave space for change. 

Monumental decisions are being made globally right now, and they all feel just that... monumental.

Today's leaders of democracy are carrying a big responsibility, forging a path through uncertain times. We all need serious, intelligent people with experience beyond rhetoric.