Is volunteering its own reward? It’s National Volunteer Week here in Canada, a time to celebrate volunteers, who give almost 2 billion hours a year in Canada, an amount of time that’s equal to about 1 million full-time jobs. Volunteering is about giving time, effort and energy. Some 12.7 million people in Canada volunteer, and […]
I went for hike along the Ottawa River with the Scouts this week, and the gorgeous sunset made it easy for me to decide that my next post would be about nature. Nature is an obvious good. I don’t know of anyone who would say that getting out in the fresh air isn’t healthy. Why […]
On the surface of it, these two beliefs seem harmless. People should show appreciation for work done to benefit them or the household. People should do their share of the household work in a timely fashion if they are able to. Obvious, right? Who could argue with those? And yet, I’ve come to the conclusion […]
I’m a firm believer that Scouting is good for individuals and for society. Why do I support an organization started by an upper class white male over a century ago, an organization that has had its share of trouble? Because in spite of anything you’ve heard in the news in the past, I’ve experienced the […]
A good friend recently stopped me cold as I was taking verbal potshots at Husband. He surprised me into silence by offering me a temporary solution and giving me time to stop what I was doing — and to think better of it. Husband and I were having dinner and conversation at the home of […]
I’m repeating myself when I say that I believe we can find good almost anywhere, if we just watch for it. We can find good — but we don’t always make the effort. We need to do it on purpose, to be on the lookout for it. But why? Why should we bother? The news that […]
Why does grumbling matter? It may start small, but grumbling to myself can avalanche into such a bad mood that I perceive everything negatively. Grumbling gains power and affects everyone around me. When I’m grumbling, I have real trouble seeing the good, and I’m certainly nowhere near my best self, as you’ll see below. The […]
This past Christmas, I experienced firsthand just how easy it is to find the good. I came across one unexpected and beautiful oddity while out with the family. I saw kindness in action in the local news. I remembered a long-standing online tradition of sharing. Keeping a goldfish warm On Sunday evening, December 27, with the […]