Entitlement and Conflict of Interest - in Canada?

Do you know of any employer who would allow an employee to work for another company while still pulling a pay cheque from the employer?  Neither do I.  I take great exception to Jason Kenney campaigning for a new provincial party in Alberta while still taking a pay cheque as an MP.  Despite calls for his resignation he has refused to do so and will take taxpayers’ money until at least October.  What does this say about the man’s integrity?  How can he speak about lower and middle class “entitlements” in disparaging terms when he is dipping into the trough without regard to why he is receiving this money? 

As an elected Member of Parliament he is supposed to be working for his constituents, not working for himself in the high expectation of becoming premier of this province.  Good luck with that, buddy.  Who can possibly respect someone with such a personal agenda?  Is this campaign about what is good for the people or what may be good for Jason Kenney?

I would hope that whether you are Conservative, Wildrose or of another political stripe you would still have the good sense to see that this man is out for himself, not anyone else.  At the very least this smacks of extremely poor taste and no class.  I think we see enough of that south of the border we don’t need that type of politician in Canada.

Bars to Longevity

All my enthusiasm for the magazine last week was intact even as I battled a leaking roof during our roofing renovations.  Then the worst happened, high drama between two roosters as they each felt they knew what was what.  Me in the middle trying to preach respect, moderation and understanding. 

 

And then I had to go to the doctor for my prescription renewal.  And the nurse had to take my blood pressure twice because the first recording was not very good.  I had to smile.  This is the second time the doctor has had to record high blood pressure due to confrontations with brothers.  He must think we are the Hatfields & McCoys!  However while we can quarrel in the heat of the moment we can also laugh at ourselves.  We have a strong sense of humour in our family and we all know that laughter is the best medicine.

Once you start seeing “longevity” it is surprising how many articles crop up in the same month; is this a conspiracy?  I found mention of “Blue Zones” in the O magazine as well as articles on living longer.  I discovered an article in a recent Metro newspaper and not surprisingly there was an article in the Woman’s Day magazine last week.

So what have I done to implement the lessons learned in the article?  A lot more walking which included pulling weeds in my “back 40”, piling them at one corner of the garden and walking back & forth as I worked.  I pulled out my lesson books to continue studying before the Labour Day weekend and I worked on more crossword puzzles.  Just baby steps as the cooking won’t change until after harvest when I step back into the kitchen on alternate days.  This will also relieve my mother of the stress of making the decision about what to make each day (beside NOT cooking).  This will be somewhat of a challenge as she normally doesn’t like how I cook meat and she doesn’t like vegetables but we shall make the attempt.

I have some other plans for September but until I actually implement them I will not give myself the stress of declaring them here.  After all, too much pressure isn’t good for the blood pressure.

(pictures are of my other brothers clowning around and Mom & I having a laugh)

Longevity & Blue Zones

Imagine my excitement when I saw the recent special issue of National Geographic about Blue Zones and how to live a long and happy life.  I encourage everyone to get a copy of this magazine if you are interested in an amazing lifestyle.  I read it through in one sitting and feel so inspired that I handed it over to Mom so she could get excited about new ways of cooking.  Yes, I have hopes of teaching an old dog new tricks.  One positive thing about my mother is that she always gets on board with my goal setting for my long life.  She may not be so interested for herself but she knows this has been a life long goal of mine.  People always look at me as though I am really nuts when I say “I’d like to live to 116”.  116?  Yep.

In the bits of retirement coaching they recommend 6 pieces in a pie, Financial, Physical, Health, Social, Hobbies and Spirit.  In the Blue Zones they have broken it down a little more, into 9 parts of a pyramid.  The two styles have all the same components but the Blue Zones is a little more in-depth in breaking down social and eating habits. 

1.       Movement – constant movement

2.       Purpose “why I wake up in the morning” – hobbies, passion, adventure, the sky’s the limit

3.       Downshift – to shed stress prayer, naps, happy hour, reverence

4.       80% rule – eat only until you are 80% full

5.       Plant slant – more vegetarian based diet that includes beans

6.       Wine – yes, those who drink moderately (1-2 glass of wine a day) live longer than teetotalers

7.       Right tribe – social circles support healthy behaviors.  A moais is a group of 5 friends who are committed to each other for life!  (how cool is that?)

8.       Community – attending faith based services 4 times a month can add years to one’s life!

9.       Loved ones first – successful centenarians put family first.

What I found additionally exciting is that there are a number of communities in the United States and elsewhere in the world that have taken on commitments to the Blue Zones lifestyle with excellent success.  Dan Buettner is the author of this issue who has also written several books on the topic – I am going to get my hands on these books!

Anything worthwhile must start with yourself buying into the idea, working the idea and feeling very passionate about all aspects.  We cannot cherry pick what we like if we are going to live to 100 and beyond.  We need to commit most importantly to healthy eating but improving our social commitments is a very close second.  I’m definitely in.  What do you think?

 

 

Pet Peeve #105

Why would Microsoft (I am assuming this is a problem with Microsoft) use a default on the keyboard for Spanish lettering rather than maintaining the status quo of the slash / question mark, apostrophe / quotation?  This has occurred on my keyboard since Windows 7 and with all the recent thunderstorms I have had to shutdown daily for several weeks.  Some days it takes forever for the keyboard to listen to my “whispering” to default back (and yes, I do know how to make it go back but some days it’s as though the keyboard is stuck and cannot be sensitive enough to make the change).

I am pretty sure that the world still requires a question mark more often than they need to convert to a Spanish E.  I am also sure that this particular quirk is not a money grab like so many other Microsoft “innovations”. 

So in my retirement I am actually thinking that I should switch to a Mac simply to avoid the pet peeve but then there is the added bonus of learning a whole new system and isn’t that part of the retirement deal.  Keeping the brain active (not aggravated) is the goal to a happy, long life.

Who knew it could be so easy to convert?  Just a shift in mindset.

All About You

I am just coming out of a 21 day meditation with Deepak & Oprah with the theme of Becoming Unstuck and do I ever feel wonderful.  Just sitting still for 10 or 20 minutes and listening to their thoughts and then meditating on their ideas is peaceful.  When I feel illuminated by their ideas then it is truly wonderful.  Sure enough, some days are better than others but what I realize is that taking this time daily is very important to keep my balance and my cool.

I began to write about my current ordeal on roofing but this is really for everyone to think about.  As Bilbo said “it’s a dangerous thing, stepping out your front door” added with “don’t throw stones in a glass house” so let me just say this; we can work very hard at meditating and improving ourselves but we must first and foremost sink our ego, our pride and our tempers.  Whenever we are tried we need to think like a professional at work, pause, don’t press the send button until you know you are in control of your emotions.  To use yet another proverb “you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar” and “a soft word turns away wrath”.

Does anyone know how to pass that message on to The Donald?

What I am really trying to say is that meditation is not only for daily use in 21 day spurts, it is for a lifetime and awareness of the centering thought for the day must be all day long.  There is no use in trying to improve one’s inner being unless we can radiate it outwards to our loved ones and beyond.  The words of Ramana Maharshi are appropriate here “Your own self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world”.

Amen to that.

Priming the Pump

As chance would have it this morning I read one of my daily messages which discussed how to deal with the so-called writer’s block.  Instead of closing one’s self away it is much better to be out and about which will trigger ideas in a way that contemplating one’s navel will never do.  It seems common sense but how easily one can hide away from common sense.

I am rapidly approaching my second anniversary in retirement and I have much to be grateful for not least of which is my general well-being.    Two weeks ago I heard that one of my former colleagues (who was still working) died peacefully in his sleep but the poor man was only 58 years old.  Whenever we hear of a sudden death we also hear a lot of statements like “it really made me think about my life” and yet not many people act upon that “thinking”.  I am profoundly grateful that I listened to my body two years ago when it told me that I could no longer endure a 14 hour day of sitting.  Spending so much time outdoors for many months of the year, walking, puttering, bending and NOT SITTING has been extremely good for me. 

So what do I know for sure?  Don’t just make lip service to motherhood statements.  Act on them.  Live, live, live until you die.  [thank you Mrs. Chancellor]

The Race is On - in America

Who has not watched the American primaries over the past year?  Only someone in deepest, darkest . . . nowhere!

The comparison of the two parties throughout has been one of starkest contrast.  The one side civilized and respectful even when things became heated or contentious while the other side was staggeringly disrespectful, obnoxious and childish.  I don’t understand the American style of politics and history has shown that the system is not ideal and in fact can be very dysfunctional.  I recall learning in our Canadian history class that when our founding fathers deliberated during Confederation they examined the American system (fresh off their Civil War) and decided that a centralized government was the way to go rather than adhering to “states’ rights”.  As evidenced by President Obama’s very difficult tenure with both the Congress and the Senate loaded with Republicans the method seems really very peculiar.

All that analysis aside one next must wonder what would motivate any rational person to trust Donald Trump.  The key word being “rational”.  Superficially one could perhaps hear words that sound appealing but can anyone possibly believe that he could fulfill any of the things he says he will do?  One question popped up over the weekend by some of the “sharpest minds” in politics and that is “why is he even running for president?”  His whole career has been on of, shall we say, self-aggrandizement so it is quite a stretch to think that at his time of life he feels he is ready to do public service.  One also has to have amnesia in order to forget all the abusive things that have spewed out of his mouth over the years (and is that possible?)

By contrast we have the Democratic candidate having lived her whole adult life in the service of the public cause.  I have always liked and even admired Hillary Clinton as a person, speaker and public figure.  I cannot understand it when people say “I don’t like her”.  Plain and simple, I don’t understand.  Watching the Democratic convention and hearing her husband speak so highly of her, as well as so many other admired and loved Democrats I believe that this party has put everything together and will run an excellent campaign.

But, in the end, the media will skew the news to favour the party they want to win and unfortunately people are led in ways they may afterwards regret. 

So here is something to think about media folks, when you paint a politician a certain way understand where that path will lead.  I will say this on behalf of Mr. Trump, creating a cartoon character and making him into a buffoon (with or without his help) – you are not doing the country any favours and you are diminishing his credibility.  It’s time to bring responsible reporting into the campaign and ignore all the stupidity.  Maybe he will grow up and stop backlash tweeting. 

One can always hope.