Passion Power

How long must we be punished for the horrible injustices done by our ancestors? Perhaps the answer is ‘as long as it takes’. Throughout history even women had to claw their way to relevance in a world that favoured men not to mention the gay community. The word for that is progress and we must fight the good fight. Right? Watching the United States implode does not feel like progress. Am I the only one? It looks like leaderless country and the start of a civil war with no solution in sight. All over one bad cop. Progress. People are fed up. There is evidence to suggest that racism never really went away although for a time I thought we were getting better. As I watch how mainstream media and social media polarize the issue, I sit and listen to what my heart feels about discrimination and racism. It is naïve to ignore the journey of the people who have lived on the margins of our society. You cannot opt out just because society works for you. I can’t assume to know what ...

I work in a little store and people come in and want to talk about the president. Donald Trump does not care about political correctness and uses twitter as his playground. People are obsessed with him and he loves all the attention. His provocative leadership style has turned civil society on its head. What is happening online with Trump reminds me of a time I worked in a sales office managing a group of people. I had zero tolerance for troublemakers. There is always one. A toxic person allowed to run rampant can completely disrupt the flow of a business. I understand why people feel compelled to react. Don’t we all have a little anti-establishment in us? But have we gone too far? Some people think so. This cancel culture online is like the wild west. You will be attacked by a swarm of bees if your opinions are different. To make matters even worse, media groups are profiting from division and discourse and people are being paid online to stir the pot. Did you know that h...

So now what? After this pandemic does what it does how will things change? What is the new economy going to look like? What is our new handshake going to be? Is buy the shoes take the trip and eat the cake still good advice? What felt like a reset button has become a nightmare. All this uncertainty has created a lot of fear and stress which creates panic and chaos. We see this playing out in the news and on social media every day. Although the storm has hit the entire globe, we are all in different boats. I am so happy to be living in Canada right now. Am I the only one? Our new normal has just begun and with our heads-up paying attention to where we are going, we might get it right. Jack Dorsey the CEO of Twitter donated one billion dollars to pandemic relief. Oh, what a wonderful world it would be if all billionaires shared their wealth or even better, we had a world where accumulating that kind of wealth was not allowed to exist in the first place. What happened to the laws ...

The green rush is on while Ontario is busy reinventing the wheel. Alberta has 400 Cannabis stores while Ontario loses $42 Million setting up a website and making stickers. A short drive down the road you can purchase cannabis in creams, soaps, gels and bath balms. They sell cookies, chocolate, candy and tea. The CBD oil is priced competitively in a range of different products and strengths. You can purchase a plant if you like gardening. They have a points card. Mondays and Wednesday are senior discount days. The store collects cans of food for the community and offer discounts for donations. The store is heated with solar panels. They have fish and chips right on site with umbrella picnic tables to enjoy a nice lunch. People come from all over to explore the novelty of a pot shop while product experts happily answer questions to help you choose the right product. Customers are lined up out the door almost every day. The longer hours on Fridays and Saturdays accommodate the ...

The Impossible Standard of Beauty Am I the only one that thinks there is an implicit connection between the blown-up beauty industry valued at $530 Billion and the increase in anxiety and anti-depressant use in young girls? The impossible standard of beauty in movie stars and advertising models is now, whether we like it or not unavoidable. There’s an online world more than willing to usher them into adulthood with these beauty games as social media influencers are being tapped to promote products and do tutorials on how to use their “favourite” brands. They’re being taught they aren’t clean enough, thin enough or pretty enough and playing right into the hands of these gigantic retailers. I suppose this messaging has been going on for years. I flashback to my teen years when there wasn’t enough makeup in the world to cover up my perceived imperfections. For better or for worse we eventually have to discover that beauty products don’t cure unhappiness, loneliness, a broken heart...

Mainstream media is constantly pushing narratives that wind people up because strife sells better than unity. Competing for eyeballs is like catching crabs. They throw us click bait and see how many they catch in the net. Here’s a recent example of how they get our attention. Mainstream media took a moment on Coaches Corner gave it some click bait and it went viral. I’m sure good old Don was cracking from the pressure as a public figure and the responsibility that it carried. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks or as it seems, a new updated politically correct language either. His style and popularity are the exact opposite of that. He’s too old to care or conform. Rogers Media tried to put Don Cherry in a box, and he said NO. Fair enough. I know 80-year old’s and they don’t fit in boxes and follow new rules. Besides, there are far better platforms for this hockey legend than cable television. In fact, we should all be looking for alternative media news sources such as ...

An early morning predawn To calibrate my day I sit quietly and listen To what silence has to say slow and steady breathing body whispers needs truth softly awakens and writing flows free Oh mornings pages, morning pages, how wonderful you’ve been to me. When gratitude abounds and I am set free.