Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

ADAM OLSEN -- When we win, do others have to lose? How do we handle the political outrage flowing freely and super-charged by social media platforms? How are we managing?


One of the primary realizations I've made in my brief time in provincial politics is how easy it is to slip into an unhealthy lifestyle. Without careful attention to my overall fitness, personal well-being quickly gets lost in the background noise. There is a lot of background noise.

Winning is the focus of partisan politics ... not winning together, but winning at someone else's expense.

There is an intense competitive desire to politically tear each other apart, rather than lift each other up. Constituency work can also be heavy. It's difficult to hear stories of your fellow citizens who have fallen through the cracks and know that political calculations, not compassion, are primary factors driving of the decisions to fix or ignore the problem.

This job ages you. It's hard on personal relationships, emotionally draining, creates a spiritual void and is mentally taxing. All of this can manifest in poor physical health and it affects how we govern.

How can we expect the outcomes of our democratic institutions to be healthy if we are not properly looking after the people who make the decisions?

So, as I have been outlining in these morning blogs, I've been working to improve my outcomes in the four pillars of my personal well-being - physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. So, I persist in my morning walks, yoga and meditation.

Love, warmth, free of pain and full of success!

In a recent guided meditation, I was asked to think about someone I love and to offer to them thoughts and feelings of love and warmth, wishing for them to be well, free of pain and suffering as well as achieving success and prosperity.

Then the voice suggested I take those thoughts and feelings and apply them to someone I don't like. Offer to them thoughts and feelings of love and warmth. Wish them to be well, free of pain and suffering and full of success and prosperity.

Finally, the voice suggested I apply those same thoughts and feelings to myself. Offer myself thoughts and feelings of love and warmth. Wish myself well, freedom from pain and suffering, as well as success and prosperity.

It was a welcome suggestion to remain mindful about how we show up, and what energy we put into the world. When we win, do others have to lose? How do we handle the political outrage flowing freely and super-charged by social media platforms? How are we managing?

No matter what you do, our modern world can easily overwhelm. Especially if we are not looking after ourselves and each other.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BC cannot regulate, redesign, and reinterpret its way to a stable forestry sector. Communities need clear rules, predictable timelines, and accountability for results.

Photo credit:  Atli Resources LP   BC’s Forestry Crisis Continues with Closure of Beaver Cove Chip Facility   As industry leaders, Indigenous partners, and contractors gather this week at the BC Natural Resources Forum in Prince George, the gap between government rhetoric and reality could not be clearer. Just hours after the Eby government once again touted reconciliation, certainty, and economic opportunity under DRIPA, Atli Chip Ltd, a company wholly owned by the ’Na̱mg̱is First Nation, announced it is managing the orderly closure of its Beaver Cove chip facility. The closure comes despite public tax dollars, repeated government announcements, and assurances that new policy frameworks would stabilize forestry employment and create long-term opportunity in rural and coastal British Columbia. “British Columbians are being told one story, while communities are living another,” said Ward Stamer, Critic for Forests. “This closure makes it clear that announcement...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stamer: Hope for Forestry Completely Shattered After Another Provincial Review Driven by DRIPA

IMAGE CREDIT:  Provincial Forestry Advisory Council Conservative Critic for Forests Ward Stamer says the final report from the Provincial Forestry Advisory Council confirms the worst fears of forestry workers and communities; instead of addressing the real issues driving mill closures and job losses, the NDP has produced a report that ignores industry realities and doubles down on governance restructuring. Despite years of warnings from forestry workers, contractors, and industry organizations about permitting delays, regulatory costs, fibre access, and the failure of BC Timber Sales, the PFAC report offers no urgency, no timelines, and no concrete action to stop the ongoing decline of the sector. “ This report completely shatters any remaining hope that the government is serious about saving forestry ,” said Stamer.  “ We didn’t need another study to tell us what industry has been saying for years. While mills close and workers lose their livelihoods, the NDP is focused on re...
Post a Comment
Read more

FORSETH – My question is, ‘How do we decide who is blue enough to be called a Conservative?’

How do we decide who’s blue enough to be a Conservative? AS OF TODAY (Friday January 30 th ), there are now eight individuals who have put their names forward to lead the Conservative Party of British Columbia. Having been involved with BC’s Conservatives since 2010, and having seen MANY ups and downs, having 8 people say “I want to lead the party” is to me, an incredible turn-around from the past. Sadly, however, it seems that our party cannot seem to shake what I, and others, call a purity test of ‘what is a Conservative’. And that seems to have already come to the forefront of the campaign by a couple of candidates. Let me just say as a Conservative Party of BC member, and as someone active in the party, that frustrates me to no end. Conservatives, more than any other political philosophy or belief, at least to me, seems to have the widest and broadest spectrum of ideals.   For the most part, they are anchored by these central thoughts --- smaller and less intru...
1 comment
Read more

Labels

Show more