Beware!

Old thoughts do not necessarily come from an old person. I have met a lot of folks generally 30 to 50 that say “ I’m too old for that”. With that mind set, guess what happens? The person doesn’t do whatever it was that he thinks he/she is too old for. And you know what? In the majority of cases, the person could probably still do it.

“When I was younger, I could....” Now that you’re older, how do you know you can’t? Get out there and try!

“How I wish I could retire!” And do what? If work is everything, and everything stops, so does the brain, the body and you risk retiring to a wooden box. Man was meant to work. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that it’s OK to retire.

Old thoughts are not like New Year’s  Resolutions. The latter is likely broken the next day or for sure, within a month. Old thoughts tend to start the downward spiral and once a person gets used to thinking old thoughts, every action that person does, tends to make him/her behave older.

I have met a few people over the years that are active into their 80’s and beyond. How do they do it? No old thoughts. Keep working. Stay positive.

My first boss was 84 when I was 13 and he worked me into the ground day after day. Up at 6:00 am, get the lunch ready, out on the lake by 7:30 and back by 5:00, then clean the boats, clean the fish, clean up and repeat 7 days straight. About every second day, we would be up at 4:00 am to go and lift the fishing nets. The man was a dynamo. Did I mention that he lost half his stomach about the time he was 70? Positive attitude!

Another fellow (out of many) that stands out was a shift foreman in the local paper mill. He was forced to retire at 70. That was the earliest a fellow could retire with a full pension without penalty. Did he have negative or old thoughts? Not many! The last I saw him he was in his 80’s and up to his neck in church volunteering. I had to run to catch up with him on the street.

Now, before you say “But, we all get old”, let me say this. Yes we do. It is inevitable. There are many people due to sickness, accident or whatever that get old before their time. I am not talking about those few. I am putting this out to those that just give up, lay down and wait for the grim reaper.

I have a few rules that I try to follow:

1.       Be aware of your thought process. Banish “Old Thoughts”.

2.       If after a hard day in the field various parts of the anatomy hurt, get over it! No Pity Parties.

3.       Exercise daily. It is like canoeing, once your legs go numb, the sport is enjoyable.

4.       When necessary to vent, try to do it in private. Bad thought are catching to other people.

5.       Be thankful for everyday on earth.

6.       Lift up, not down.

What on Earth are We Doing?

Now, this may rankle a few folks, but I don't intend to apologize.

Since October I have been listening to adds on the radio, on TV and on billboards to buy this, that and the other thing for Christmas. All are glittery, expensive and "must haves" if you are considered to be "in". I don't have a problem with people giving and getting gifts, however, there is a limit on how "in" I need to be.

What does irk me though is the constant reference to Santa Clause. We have made him an icon. Sure he was a great man back in Kris Kringle days, but now we appear to be worshiping him. This started to bother me a couple of years ago when we attended a Public School's version of a Christmas pageant. The only thing Christmas- y about it was the banner over the stage that said "Merry Christmas". There was no mention of Jesus, no mention of the true Christmas story and no appropriate music.

For the next 3 weeks we get to look at all the cute TV shows such as Elf,  Rudolph etc. that are put on in the guise of Christmas entertainment. They have nothing to do with the Lord's coming!

It appears to me now, that unless we as parents, grandparents, etc take the time to tell of the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ, the wise men and all the way up to the Apostles, this generation is going to believe that Santa Clause is God, at least for several months a year.

Now this is getting into dangerous territory as God does not like the worship of idols, and has in history decimated cities and nations for this practice, and has issued strong warnings in His Holy Word about worshiping false gods.

Having said this, we are planning on a simple gift to each other, attending a Christmas Eve service at our local church, and celebrating His birth on Christmas Day.

Hopefully, I do not come across as a Grinch, but only as a guy that has had enough of the shameless commercialism  of a Christian holiday. I will likely have a similar rant when it becomes time to "worship" the Easter Bunny.

My Rant of the Month!

For a while now, our electrical supplier has been announcing that our power rates are going to go up. What you say? 1 or 2 %..... No, 50% ! This is on top of the 20% already increased over the last year.

This was kind of expected when our Conservative government privatized the power industry. They said   that no this would never happen.

Now is this greed at its worst in the power companies?

They had a spokesperson on TV the other night that could not answer the question as to why it was going up. He said that it might be because of increased population, or maybe increased industrial demand or several other issues that I was too much in shock to remember. As far as I can tell the Alberta population has not increased by 70%, industry has not grown by that much, nor have the sum totals of all the lame possibilities  that he suggested. Personally, I would have fired the guy!

The issue that he did not mention was the possibility that the user population is paying for a proposed power line expansion.

What does this mean to this retired acreage owner?
First of all, the chickens have to go as we cannot afford to over winter them.
Second, the cost of produce is going to go up again. Have you priced a roast of beef, or a chicken in Alberta lately?
Third, this will definitely cause industry that is thinking of moving here to go elsewhere.
Fourth, it will accelerate inflation
Fifth, it is NOT the thing to do when we are on the verge of recession/depression.

Hint: When any government starts talking privatization, be prepared to come out swinging!

What about you? are you satisfied with  $12+ per gigajoule? Or in other words (English) prepared to take a 70% hike in your electricity cost? $12 is now, $18 is coming.

I would be interested in hearing your comments, as I am going to be writing the various levels of government this week and our new Premier Elect.