6th Wave

We have had to make some changes at our school to address the sixth wave of the pandemic. We launched our endemic plan a few months ago but the current situation here, on the third year of the current pandemic, is the worst it has ever been.

The real problem we are facing right now has been endemic throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Suspending all restrictions during a significant infection wave of a three year pandemic is why we are here. The problem is lack of leadership. This lack of leadership though is no longer the fault of the UCP government, that fault lies squarely on each of our shoulders. 

We all have the right to forgo masks and isolation at the expense of every vulnerable and immune-compromised citizen. Unfortunately we also have the right to suspend the use of common sense:

• People not considering the incubation period of COVID-19 before the onset of symptoms. 
• People not understanding that they are contagious for two days prior to showing symptoms. 
• People not understanding the limitations of a rapid test and the likelihood of testing negative, despite being symptomatic, for days before finally getting a positive confirmation of COVID. 

All of those factors are fueling the current pandemic wave because people are not isolating after a known exposure. The majority of us are waiting until the onset of symptoms or worse yet, a positive rapid test confirmation before isolating. Under those conditions, you have already spread the virus before you even knew you were infected. You’re closing the barn door after the cows have got out.

“Common sense is not so common.” - Voltaire (1694 - 1778)

Grief

Everyone obviously grieves differently. I don’t have a good handle on how I handle grief but I am starting to understand a bit better.

I thought I was very good at handling grief. So good in in fact that for a while I thought there might be something wrong with me. My ability to compartmentalize is borderline sociopathic. Or so I thought.

On the first anniversary of my father’s death, I am much more aware of how my grieving process is more complicated than I thought. I can tell my mental health is compromised and how I am dealing with his death, or not dealing with it, is spilling over into other areas of my life.

Yesterday I visited my dad’s gravesite for the first time since his funeral last year. What I had anticipated to be a healing process did not turn out the way I had hoped or envisioned. I find my grief to be even more profound today than it was before my pilgrimage.

Obviously I have a way to go before his passing is behind me. I miss you dad.

“There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief.” - Aeschylus (525 - 456 BC)

Peace and Happiness

We’ve been on the brink of another world war for a couple of months. The political divide continues to widen as people polarize and close their minds. The pandemic rages on with the sixth wave looking like it will be continuing to intensify to peak sometime this summer. Unsettling times for sure.

I have been finding more peace and happiness despite these uncertain times because I have made a choice to disengage from the conversation. I think this mindset only became possible because I finally realized that nobody was listening. We are all just screaming into a void while suspending critical thinking.

Life is short. Everyone gets what they put into it. I don’t want to end up looking back on my life with regret. I am grateful for the freedom I have. I am grateful for the love that nurtures my life. I am grateful for the company of my friends and family. This is all I want for everyone.

“If you don’t feel free in Canada, nothing any political candidate can say or do will ever help you. A candidate peddling more freedom , or telling you to take back Canada is creating anger in you for their own purposes.Canada is not perfect, we have work to do, but we are free.” - Peter Radcliffe

Grounding

“It is in my nature to grow old. It is in my nature to get sick. It is in my nature to die. “

I repeat and reinforce this affirmation as part of my daily meditation practice. It never hurts to kickstart my day with a solid dose of reality to fuel my motivation to maximize the possibility of the present moment.

There is no work. It is all play.

“This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.” - Allan Watts (1915 - 1973)

Victim or Hero

We all are goal-orientated to some degree. Society has evolved to the point where we spend at least eight hours per day earning a living to put food on the table, another eight hours asleep, and around three more hours eating. That leaves five hours left in a day to accomplish anything personal beyond these basics. When you consider how much time the average person spends in front of a television set or computer screen, having and following a plan to achieve your goals is almost a necessity. 

The busyness of our lives is guaranteed but all the activity generated by our busyness does not necessarily result in the achievement of our goals. Without discipline and focus, time slips away and with it, so does opportunity.

We can’t control the busyness embedded in our lifestyle so learning how to maximize the few hours we have available to achieve our personal goals is imperative if we wish to be successful.

Ultimately, time is the only commodity that has true value. Time is finite and none of us have any guarantee as to how much time we have. Maximizing what we do with the time we have available is the best way to achieve your goals.

The only way to maximize your time is to live in the present moment. Unless you are living in the present moment, your future is random. Tomorrow is determined by what you do today. Action or inaction will set your future. Action gives you control, inaction relinquishes your control. Action can make you the hero of your future, inaction can make you the victim of your past.

“No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.” - Alan Watts (1915 - 1973)

The Art of the Question

As a teacher I am aware that when I answer a student’s question, there is a chance that the student may not use my answer in the way in which I had intended. I used to overcompensate for this possibility by over-explaining my answers in an attempt to ensure the intent of my answers were understood by my students. Thirty years of experience has shown me that the intent behind my answer is irrelevant when compared to the intent behind the question.

Experience with divisive politics, and even the pandemic, shows us that people rarely ask a question without already being invested in their own opinion. People are not always looking for the answer, more often than not, they are looking for a specific answer and they structure their question in such a way to help funnel the answer toward their agenda.

Ego is not the friend of the truth, education, or mindful living. The truth is out there and so is the knowledge you seek. You just need to make sure that your intent is to acquire knowledge and truth, not just an answer.

“People are very open-minded about new things - as long as they're exactly like the old ones.” - Charles Kettering (1876 - 1958)

SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP SLAP

We’re going on to the third year of the COVID pandemic, Quebec has started a new wave of infections, Ontario’s waste water analysis is also indicating an imminent surge, and there are still people who do not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. 

There is a lot emotion that goes into a person’s world view. The main weapon we have at our disposal in controlling those emotions is knowledge and understanding. We have the power of reasoning available to us and the intellect, for the most part, to understand the concepts of cause and effect, as well as the ability to reason out that freedom and rights come with significant responsibility.

My personal belief is that government mandates are never going to be effective unless there is a zero tolerance approach to enforcement. We can argue all we want about whether or not a mandated measure is effective but the argument has absolutely no merit unless the mandated measures are implemented completely and then the resulting data proves them effective or ineffective. If we are not following the mandates, there is no way to prove, one way or another, the validity of the strategy. Unfortunately for the minority who absolutely refuse to comply with any mandate unless they are not personally inconvenienced by it, they can keep fueling this pandemic indefinitely and continue to argue that the mandates are not effective despite the fact that it is their personal actions that are guaranteeing the failure of any mandate.

We will never be at the point where we can rely upon everyone to pull together in a unified, logical strategy. To be clear, when I say logical, I am talking about strategies based upon science and common sense, not strategies based upon emotions. Politics, personal agendas, and illogical paradigms will continue to divide us and continue to be used to promote personal benefit over what is best for our community and society as a whole.

No leadership or strategy is going to benefit everyone equally. Compromise is the only way we can progress together. Unfortunately for the privileged few, compromise tends not to be in their vocabulary.

We are letting politicians decide medical strategies. We are ignoring healthcare professionals and doing our own “research” on the internet. This is why we have entered the third year of a global pandemic with no end in sight.

“Make sure your worst enemy is not living between your own two ears...”  ― Nitya Prakash (b. 1988)