Posted on by BWThomas

Celebrating Canada’s 158th birthday!

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

O Canada! Our home and native land.

O Canada! The true north strong and free rings out far and wide as we celebrate another Canada Day. We are a young country doing our best to offer all who live within our borders a good life.

Canada is our home, some of us were born here, and some of us came here at various ages and stages in life. Canada Day is a day to celebrate our present, our past, and our future. There is no country without the good, the bad, and the ugly. This year, we have only been a country for 158 years.

I was listening to a podcast where the podcaster asked a Canadian what makes us different from the USA. It seems like a strange question to me, would we ask a U.K. citizen what makes them different, or a French citizen, so why would an American think they have the gall to ask a Canadian what makes us Canadian, and why we don’t want to be an American? Should we be insulted when citizens of what they think is the greatest country on earth wonder why we wouldn’t want to join them? They might think it is a compliment to be invited to join the greatest country in the world, and wonder why we are getting our backs up.

Why isn’t an orange an apple? Why isn’t a zebra the same as a horse? What’s the difference between a crocodile and an alligator? It is true that Canada and America are from the same tree, and part of North America. If Canada and the U.S. united into a North American Union, we would not be American. France is part of the EU, but it is still France. America would be part of the North American Union, and Canada would be part of the North American Union, but we would not be a state of America.

True patriot love in all of us command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, the True North strong and free!

My husband is telling me we are an ungrateful bunch because we don’t realize how good we have it. This might be true, but many of us think we had it better before houses got out of reach for the average Canadian. Are we a victim of success, being priced out of our cities? Visitors talk about Toronto as a special place to visit, but is it good when the residents aren’t as happy as the visitors? I’ve always thought that being attractive to tourists is a trap, because it places tourism above the interests of the common people.

Canada is growing up, we are suffering growing pains, an identity crisis, and the angst of living next to the USA. We need to watch letting America use our inferiority complex against us. We’ve carved a niche for ourselves in the world; we need to continue to build Canada for Canadians, whether they are old or new.

O Canada, we have our difficulties, challenges, and possibilities. Will we deal with the challenges to the best of our abilities? Will our leaders always make the best decision? Will everything always work out as we want, or will there be unintended consequences to our best intentions? Perfection is the enemy of the good, and if we are never willing to make a mistake or fail, we will never do anything.

Canada isn’t perfect, and we’ll never be perfect. We have overcome challenges in the past, and we will overcome challenges now, and some challenges might always be with us as we strive to build a country that offers the best to its citizens and the world.

I’m looking at the lyrics of O Canada, first written in 1880, it was commissioned by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, Theodore Robitaille, for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony. The music was composed by Calixa Lavallee, and the words were written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. O Canada has been our de facto national anthem since 1939, but only became our official national anthem after receiving royal assent, which became effective July 1st, 1980.

Celebrate Canada on Canada Day and every day. We aren’t perfect, we’ll never be perfect, but perfection is the enemy of the good. Being a good country is a worthy ambition; there will be mistakes and missteps, we need to keep moving forward, and continue to be proud of our home and native land.  

From far and wide,

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Thank you for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed it. Please come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

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Thank you for reading my books, and a special thank you to those who leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon. If you click on the Amazon link and purchase an item, I receive a small percentage of the sale through the Amazon affiliate program.

Posted on by BWThomas

What is good, what is bad, staying positive, and dealing with life as it unfolds.

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. William Shakespeare

Does life feel more or less precarious as we watch what is going on in the Middle East? Are our conversations a minefield as we take sides and someone else takes a different side?

Do we have faith that we can deal with the challenges ahead? No one knows what is ahead, but we all know it will be different from what it is now. We see the changes coming, and many of them we don’t like, but what if changes weren’t coming? Would life be better? Better for whom?

In the game of life, there are winners and losers, and no one minds being on the winning side, but when we think we might not be on the winning side, we’d like to see no more change.

My parents lived through a lot of change, some good, some not so good, but they rode the rollercoaster of life to the end. They lived through one world war, and my grandparents lived through two. We will live through the changes coming, some we may fear but never face, and some we don’t worry about will blindside us

Is faith what will get us through? Do we have faith in ourselves, our countries, fellow citizens, governments, and faith in a higher power? Is it possible to live in a precarious world with faith to deal with what comes? Hasn’t it always been a precarious world? What can we do in our own lives to make our lives less precarious?

Being part of a strong family is a safe harbor in times of trouble. If we are resilient and able to see what is still possible and make the best of what is, life will be better than if we feel we are a victim of circumstances.

A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart. Johann Wolfgang

Victimhood does not build a good life! What is the difference between facing hard challenges and feeling like a victim? Is it when we face hard challenges that we have to find courage to deal with what is, and when we feel like victims, we don’t take advantage of what we can to make our lives better?

We are told we always have a choice, sometimes the only choice is our attitude, sometimes our choice is between two goods, and sometimes we have to choose the best of the bad. Our choices might be for our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Is what we stand up for, rail against, and support, for the greatest good? Do we even know what the greatest good would be? We always come up against the unexpected consequences of our decisions. Sometimes we get good consequences from bad decisions, and we get bad outcomes out of what we thought were good choices. Will there be unexpected consequences for every change we try to make?

Do we pray for those who make the tough decisions affecting all our lives? Do we pray for discernment and wisdom to govern their actions? We know decision-makers have information we don’t have, do we trust them?

We might think we know the obvious direction we or others need to go. But we don’t know, and we can’t know what the unintended consequences of our best intentions are. Leaders are tasked with making hard decisions, even if we don’t like the decisions or think they were the best decision, we will have to live with the results. Can we get peace through strength?

If we are blessed to live in peace and safety, do our thoughts and prayers go to those facing war and strife? Is there more we can do than thoughts and prayers? Is living in peace and plenty possible for everyone?

Never let a bad situation bring out the worst in you. Choose to stay positive and be the strong person that God created you to be! Unknown

No one else can choose your attitude for you. Your perspective and choice of attitude gives you the power to be in control. Irene Dunlap

Choose the positive. You have choices, you are master of your attitude, choose the positive, the constructive. Optimism is a faith that leads to success. Bruce Lee

Thank you for reading this post. Please come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

To subscribe, comment, and see archives or categories of posts, click on the picture and scroll to the end.

Thank you for reading my books, and a special thank you for leaving a review on Goodreads and Amazon. If you click on the Amazon link and make a purchase, I receive a small percentage of the sale through the Amazon affiliate program.

Posted on by BWThomas

Father’s impact our lives in big and little ways. How much of who we are is because of our fathers?

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

I cannot think of any need in children as strong as the need for a father’s protection. Sigmund Freud

On Father’s Day, we think of our fathers and how they impacted our lives. Even if he was never in our lives, he left an impact that has followed us.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to grow up with a loving father who is present in their life. Choices and circumstances may make it so fathers are unable to be present in their children’s lives.

The loss of a father leaves a hole in our lives that never gets filled. This might impact us in big and small ways. Watching my husband play with our grandchildren shows me how important fathers and grandfathers are. In the morning, the first person my grandson looks for is Grandpa. He wants to be like Grandpa and Daddy, and fortunately, he has both.

How hard is it for little boys who don’t have a father to look up to and emulate to find role models to follow? How hard is it for little girls to know what to expect from men if a loving father isn’t there? I think of my cousins, the youngest one was two when they lost their father. It isn’t that children can’t grow up to be fine men and women without a father. But they do have one half of their support system missing. Sometimes children get wonderful step-fathers who fill in the gap, but sometimes no one fills the gap.

A daughter needs a dad to be the standard against which she will judge all men. Gregory E. Lang

I think of Dad often, and I’m thankful to have had him in my life as long as I did. My son will say to me, “Mom, not everyone grew up in utopia like you did.” Growing up on the farm with Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, and animals was a wonderful way to grow up. Mom and Dad moved off the farm before my kids came along. I wish they’d had an opportunity to spend time on the farm and to spend more time with Mom and Dad. The choices I made to move far away meant that time with Grandma and Grandpa was limited.

It starts in the home. If the father is not in the home, the boy will find a father in the streets. I saw it in my generation and every generation before me, and every one since. Denzel Washington

Our choices shape our lives; we choose one road and never know what life would have been like if we chose a different path. Making the best of the choices we’ve made is part of life, and showing our children we can stick to our decisions and commitments isn’t always easy, but life isn’t about being easy. It isn’t the easy lives we want to emulate.

Having fathers and grandfathers who lived lives making the best of what was offered shows their children and grandchildren how to be in this world. We won’t always get what we want; every decision doesn’t work out as expected. Having men in our lives who are steadfast and persevere teaches us to become people who know how to be strong and who will persevere when life isn’t quite the way we’d like it to be.

Dad, you gave us so much with your hard work, sacrifice, good humor, musical ability, sense of fairness, and optimism. Maybe we did grow up in utopia, a time of innocence and optimism.

Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man. Frank Pittman

The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature. Antoine Francois Prevost

I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom. Umberto Eco

Thank you for reading this post. Please come back and read more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

To subscribe, comment, and see archives or categories of posts, click on the picture and scroll to the end.

Thank you for reading my books, and a special thank you to those who leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon. If you click on the Amazon link and purchase an item, I receive a small percentage of the sale through the Amazon affiliate program.

Posted on by BWThomas

Clash of titans, relationships change, can some be fixed, but others end forever?

Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

Building and repairing relationships are long-term investments. Stephen Covey

How many of us have experienced beautiful relationships that ended? Some relationships die because we didn’t put enough time and effort into maintaining them as we moved on with our lives. People go their separate ways, lose touch, and sometimes we never hear from friends who at one time were the center of our lives.

Sometimes we stay in touch loosely, and other times relationships end in spectacular ways. The rose-colored glasses come off, and someone we saw who had no warts, we now see as having all warts. It happens everywhere, in our families, friendships, workplaces, and governments.

Personalities, ideologies, and circumstances collide, and our relationships can be casualties. We were good until something was said or done that changed everything. We might wish with all our hearts we could go back to what was, but once the fracture happens, there may be no way to repair the breach.

Parents and children, siblings, and friends haven’t spoken in years. Some will go to their grave never speaking to each other again, and some will begin to talk when there is a death in the family. If a brother, sister, mother, or father is not welcome at a wedding, how much of a shadow does it cast?

Petty feuds occur with individuals we thought were above petty feuds, and may blindside us when they happen to us. How do we bridge the chasm between us, and if we can’t bridge it, how do we keep the fallout from affecting everyone around us?

Are there people we need to keep at a distance because the relationship will end badly? Have we watched other relationships end badly and still ventured forth to build one? We might enjoy watching famous relationships implode spectacularly; the clash of titans titillates us on the evening news.

A relationship is like a house. When a light bulb burns out, you don’t go and buy a new house. You fix the light bulb. Unknown

Watching other people’s relationships, we might wonder how we can make our relationships better, or keep them from devolving into coldness or exploding, and burning ourselves and everyone around us.

Some relationships will end, but if they have to end, do they have to end with vitriol spewed publicly? Isn’t it better to distance ourselves from relationships that no longer serve, without making it public? Some people might think we are being fake, pretending everything is okay, if we still speak to someone we no longer want a relationship with. Isn’t this better than fracturing everyone’s relationship? Sometimes people expect us to take sides, and we are in their bad books if we talk to someone they no longer talk to.

Is it possible to not take sides, and the one who makes us choose loses? Will power dynamics be such that we have to choose a side? We can’t heal someone else’s relationships, and sometimes we can’t even heal our own. Maybe what we can do is bring civility into our lives, so if breaches get healed by others, we haven’t created ones of our own.

Relationship repair just might be the most important skill you can learn for your emotional wellbeing. Unknown

Many good relationships have been broken and ruined by unwise words being spoken in a rage of bitterness, hatred and anger. Words of bitterness filled with hatred and anger breaks up relationships and throws logic and reason out of the window. Errol Anthony Smythe

A good ending to a bad partnership is better than a bad ending to a good one. Unknown

Thank you for reading this post. Please come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.

To subscribe, comment, and see archives or categories of posts, click on the picture and scroll to the end.

Thank you for reading my books, and a special thank you to those who leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon. If you click on the Amazon link and make a purchase, I receive a small percentage of the sale through the Amazon affiliate program.