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I have spent the last decade and primarily the last 6 years going within to look at who I am. I have looked at my core beliefs, my behaviour patterns, my habits and so on to see which part of these I like and want to keep versus those that are not me and have been handed down from generation to generation; a cycle. I know that the more I am true to me, the more I will live my life to the fullest and in peace and calm.

It meant taking a hard look in the mirror and seeing what parts of me I like and which parts I do not. I have gladly handed back those parts that do not belong to me. This took courage and awareness. Not everyone is aware.

So what happens when you are not aware or avoid those “bad” patterns in your life? Do we just forget and bury those incidents from our past and never see them again? Where do these memories sit?

I have a dear friend who lost her father recently and we were talking and she said to me that the stuff from her past hasn’t really affected her. I didn’t say anything however I found that comment interesting since I see that she is an avoider and doesn’t want to see some of her relationships for what they are. In the last year she has had neck and back problems, she had an issue with her eyes.

When we choose to avoid dealing with patterns in our life a couple of things happen. First, we create this great story for ourselves that we live by. I know because I was one of those people. What is your story you tell yourself? For me it was that I wasn’t supported by my parents, they give all of their attention to my younger brother, people compared me to my twin brother – I was the pretty one and he is the smart one. STORIES. There is no truth to our stories unless we give them credence. I have since changed my story … not only am I beautiful – inside and out – I am smart and giving and caring and my work is making a difference in the life of the young people.

Second, where do all of these memories (good or bad) sit? In our bodies. And yes, our bodies are always talking to us. But mostly we do not know nor understand that the “pain” you are feeling comes from something that happened before, sometimes years and decades. I did an energy session on a woman in her 30s yesterday and we did somebody energy work. She complained about her lower abdomen — it was hot and uncomfortable. So we went “into” her body part and began to explore. What came out was that she was holding a very traumatic experience that happened to her when she was 14 years old. This is where is settled. Not only did she hold the memory but the “side effect” is this incident shaped her future choices and decisions – or might I say lack of. While I was doing the work on her I felt a heaviness in my chest – like I could not breathe and my legs were stuck to the ground. Whatever she experienced was holding her back from moving forward. What I love about body energy work is that she discovered the incident, she embraced the emotions of what she felt at the time and then was able to let them go. We continued with energy healing to bring a feeling of safety. How this presented itself now is that every time she felt like she was in this dark and fearful place, she shut down and could not move forward. So she did not speak her truth and move forward in certain areas of her life. By creating that space of trust she can now move through the dark events and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. As we did this my legs became less heavy – at first I felt stuck like I could not move however over time, this became less until my legs moved freely and I could breathe much easier.

It was an extraordinary experience for her. Over time she forgot about the scary incident when she was 14 however she stored it in her body and subconscious mind and this feeling has been driving her since. By embracing and releasing she is no longer bound to this and can change her response and outcome.

I watched an interesting movie called The Tree Of Life, with Brad Pitt and it was existential and questioned our relationship to G-d. The movie was set in the late 1950s I believe and you see how the harsh treatment of the father (played by Brad Pitt) on a young boy affects him as he grows and becomes an adult. He is struggling from within and without. Our Stuff! He also lost his younger brother, whom he was very close to. You could visually feel and see the conflict the boy and later man felt.

Do not think or believe for a second that our past does not have an impact on our lives, for it does. The question becomes, how are you going to let this impact your life, your choices and your outcome? That is up to you. Figure out your story or stories. What part of them is true, not true, belong to you, belong to someone else?

We can look at our past as a gift that can give us the awareness and perspective of what we want versus what we do not want. Keep what feels right and makes sense and let the rest go. I know it is not that easy. Perhaps you will need to seek a professional. Whomever you choose, know you are whole and there is nothing wrong with you. Hopefully this person will help you peel away the layers to your truth, who you are and then you can live your life to the fullest and as you choose.

Have a wonderful weekend!

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: Brad PItt, movie Tree of LIfe, where is God? Does God exist? How our parents shape our future, who are we?

It seems like a lot of people’s relatives around me have been dying: brother, father, uncle. Two were Jewish and one Italian, Catholic. For the Jewish people we have the shiva, which lasts 7 days and it is a time for the family to be surrounded and supported by loved ones and people who want to pay respect to the deceased. What I like about this process is that it is more for the living than the dead for it is the living that are “suffering”. As for the Catholic viewing, the one I attended last night was full of light and laughter and the my friend’s uncle who passed away looked so peaceful. It is as though they were celebrating his life, not mourning it!

I had a brief conversation about death yesterday prior to the shiva and viewing and we talked about how really death is a process that begins the day you are born. Despite knowing this many people fear death. I don’t want to die right now for I feel my work is just beginning in this world, however I also know that whatever will be will be. So knowing that we will all eventually die, it behoves me and yes I use that word, I shocks me how many people do not live their life to the fullest. When the day comes for us to die you will be ready for you will understand this process on a physical, mental and spiritual level. It is my belief that the soul lives on forever and it is only our body, the physical vessel we live in, that dies — from dust to dust.

So knowing this, why do we not embrace every day as a gift? The greatest gift we can give ourselves is to live in the present and embrace each day with the fullest amount of unconditional love and joy. The PRESENT. I just watched an interview which I posted on my daily dose, of an interview with Anthony Robbins and 108 year old Alice Herz Sommer, a survivor of the nazi concentration camps. This interview is remarkable as this woman shares her secret of longevity. She looks at the positive, even when there is “bad”, she loves life, and is so happy and positive. That does not mean that she has not experienced sadness, or disappointment, or frustration, or anger … I am sure that she has, however she does not let it rule her life. Interestingly she had a twin sister who was quite the opposite of her – a pessimist. I call them the yin and yang.

There is a lot going on in the world. We have a choice how we respond to the events – what is going on in Europe with the financial crisis in Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland, in the Middle East and the desire to bring down dictators that have been greedy and ruthless, in the US and their presidential debates, and so on.

The only thing that you can control is YOU and your choices in life. If you let the events of the world impact you to a point of negativity, anger, frustration, you will be allowing this type of energy to rule your life. I ask that you do not. Choose to live your life as though every day is a present. You can create the peace and joy in your life by being this way, walking your talk – smile at a stranger, open the door and hold it for someone that is struggling, say thank you when someone gives you a compliment or does something generous and nice for you.

I choose to live life each day as it comes in the present. This is not the easiest for I am a planner and in my “past days” a control freak. I have LEARNED that by letting go, trusting and being in my truth brings every thing that I need. That does not mean that I sit around and “wish” NO I am doing as well. I am writing a resource and tool book for the youth – the next leaders of our world. I am speaking to different people to guide me in this process. What I am not doing is setting out a plan so tight that there is no room for possibilities and for it to unfold as it is meant to.

Take these words, ponder them, see what resonates and then make it your own — do what feels right in your heart for you. There is no judgement for whatever you choose.

Have a wonderful weekend!

All of my love,

Sandra

Tags: anthony robbins, being positive versus negative, dealing with death, death versus life, how to embrace death, interview with Anthony Robbin, interview with Anthony Robbins and Alice Herz Somemrs, life as a present

This incident has caused much conversation amongst my friends. Yesterday while I was having lunch with my financial planner we came to this topic. He agreed that it was unacceptable for the captain to jump ship but he said the crew was another story. He felt that the crew gets paid so little in salary that if they had to choose between their life and a passenger they would choose their own life — and jump ship.

I disagreed. He then put it this way and said, “You are a mother of two boys, are you going to risk your life for that of someone else and potentially die and leave your kids motherless”? Of course this is a tough question and really unless you are in that predicament you do not know what you would do.

What I will say is that because we live in a world that lacks accountability and responsibility, we come across incidents like this too often. I did tell my financial planner that when you are hired for certain positions – flight crew, boat crew, fire fighters, police, surgeon, nurses and so on you know what you are signing up for. I have NEVER heard of any flight crew that “jumped ship” when their plane was in trouble/went down. These people are trained for this and this is one of the risks of flying. Same with a boat… all is good when the boat is sailing and the weather is good however if something were to happen these people need to be trained to deal with emergencies.

The amount of chaos the ensued was horrific. People did not know what to do, the captain was non-existent and no one carried forward a system to get these people, their patrons and staff, to safety. Again, we must learn from tragedy — The company that owns this ocean liner, Carnival, needs to take responsibility as well. It is up to them to make sure that their staff, from the captain down to the towel person, needs to be trained sufficiently so that IF there is an emergency, in which there was one, these people know what to do .. and do it calmly and in good order. They need to review their hiring practices. As well, the captain of the ship must under no circumstances be allowed to jump ship otherwise he/she will will be tried in a court of law for whatever crime happens – manslaughter, 2nd degree, etc.

The newest article today states an excuse from the captain that he fell from the boat when it tipped. No excuses. The entire incident was caused because of his EGO when he chose to go to close to shore and “show off”. He fell, SO, get back on that boat and take care of your people – guests and crew. I say this man needs to be held accountable and responsible. As well, the parent company, Carnival needs to revisit its hiring policies as well as its safety procedures.

There is another topic that arose that did catch my eye and my planner brought up. He said he found it interesting that the coast guard asked how many women and children were still on board that needed assistance. He asked me in this day and age is that appropriate? It is another tough topic. The issue is really that the traditional family does not exist anymore. You can be a lesbian or gay couple with children; you can be a single parent who adopted, and the list goes on. I do think that children, under no circumstances, must be considered amongst the first, along with disabled people and even older people. As for women being before men, I really don’t know how to answer that. If I was on that ship there is no way in hell that I would leave my children’s side. If I was on the ship with a friend or my boyfriend and we can help out as long as we were “safe” then I think I likely would help out as long as permitted.

There is no right or wrong — only opinions. Whether you agree or disagree, I do want to say that there is one person who must be held accountable for his choice to go to close to shore, jumping ship and abandoning his crew and guests, causing more chaos than was needed, and causing death — THE CAPTAIN.

We must demand more responsibility and accountability but like all things it begins with YOU, the individual. Children do what you do not what you say.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.. Lead by example.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: accountability, captain of costa concordia, carnival cruise lines, jumping ship, leading by example, responsibility

I rented the movie, The Help, this past weekend and loved it. What I loved most about it was the message of courage … from the black African-American women who took their lives in their hands when they shared stories of what it was like to work for a white family and raise their children. Second, the courage of the Skeeter Phelan who chronicled the stories of these women. Much risk was taken on both sides. This took place just prior/beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.

It was all about courage… to speak up and speak out! This was extreme because these African-American women could have been killed or jailed and Skeeter, a white sympathizer, could have been ostracized and yes killed by white supremacist. This did not stop the women because it was about something more than them … their children. These women knew that if they were going to create a better world for their children they needed to challenge the system in place.

This message is just wanted I needed to hear just prior to finishing my book. Writing a book is time-consuming and you do not see the results right away. And then there is the wonder .. will this impact the people you want or will I offend anyone? My truth is, it doesn’t matter. I am taking the courage to write the book that I believe holds much wisdom (not only mine.. many others as well) and will reach the people it is meant to. As for offending some, I am willing to take the chance for I believe that many of our systems need change and I am encouraging the youth to do so.

So, if I have to choose a life of playing it safe or taking risk and being courageous, I choose the latter.

I ask you to do the same. It does not mean you have to write a book .. start small. Choose to do something that excites you and challenges you. This is the advice I got from Bob Proctor, motivational speaker and author. I really like this advice. It may mean calling your mother/father/daughter/son to say “hi and I love you”. It may mean offering to take your niece or nephew out for a few hours and be alone with him or her even though you have no children of your own and don’t really know what you are doing. That’s ok. The only way to learn something is to practice. So get going.

Courage … is a choice!

I want to wish everyone a wonderful weekend.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: civil rights movement, courageous, how to be courage, movie The Help

I was reading one of my astro forecast and it said my theme for this year is FREEDOM. Freedom is one of those words that can have so many connotations. As I read through the description it talked about it being my time to step up to the plate and fulfill my passion/destiny/purpose. It talked about how in past I have pushed to a point and then let it go because of uncertainty. The truth is, this is true. I have achieved things in my life but I have also limited myself by my own fears. I am now ready to push through that — particularly with the great support system I have in place (thank you) and having released many of my fears that have brought me to a place of knowing who I am, my worth and my purpose in life.

The releasing is still happening and I welcome that for I have held so many beliefs that did not serve me well. I am loving myself and forgiving myself at the same time. I have shifted my paradigms around certain core beliefs and have developed new ones. I am so excited for this year.

Freedom for me means breaking the chains that have held me for so long: uncertainty to a place of knowing and certainty. Interestingly I have just completed a financial phase with my ex-husband. It was scary and daunting until I realized that the universe is telling me I no longer need him and I can do this on my own. I know I can do it! I am ready for it. I am nearly finished my book and starting to think of different programs that I can implement along with the handbook for the youth.

I feel free from the trappings of what I thought I needed – the material things. I still love to travel, eat well and live well however I do not need to have a certain brand names to feel good about myself.

You can take a look at your astro forecast if you choose:
Yearly Astro Predictions for 2012

As we are just beginning 2012, take time to sit down and decide what kind of life you want to live. Is there something or someone holding you back- is it you?? Set your intentions of what you want for this year. Keep in mind that the intentions are the larger picture. For example, you want to be healthier not just skinnier. With health comes a good weight but also good choices and action steps. Make your goals the action steps that bring you toward good health: eating better, drinking more water, sleeping better, more yoga (for some), more family time and downtime for yourself. This is the year you will love and honour yourself.

Start this weekend – begin to dream – set your intentions, write them down, read them aloud and let it go. Then decide what actions do you need to do to make the intentions come true. Take baby steps and enjoy the ride.

I want to wish everyone again a year full of laughter, joy, peace and calm; it all begins within.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: 2012 astro forecast, living life on purpose, moving to 2012, Sarah-Jane Grace, setting intentions and goals, setting resolutions

As we leave 2011 and move towards 2012 there are a range of feelings out there. Some are fearful because they have been told the world is ending. Others welcome the move away from the Mayan calendar and Age of Capricorn towards the Age of Aquarias; a time of peace and calm.

Most cannot imagine this time of peace and calm when the world around us seems crazier than ever – uprisings, floods, unpredictable financial markets and more. All I can say is that we are in a time of clearing and cleansing. In order to build what you want you need to rid of what you do not want. We are ridding some things that have been ingrained for decades if not centuries. It is a time for being in the moment, being in gratitude and loving and honouring yourself.

In order to create the world we want, especially one of peace and calm, this must begin within. This year, 2012, I encourage you to create your intention to love and honour yourself in all ways; not from an ego place but a place of listening to your heart and acting from that place. You must first learn to be in peace and calm within before you can bring it to the world. If each of us came frome this place, we can change the world one person at a time.

Your intention for 2012 can sound something like:

I wake each day with gratitude for all the wonderful relationships in my life starting with myself. I listen to my heart and make decisions that are in my best interest and for my higher self. I am in peace and calm.

I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year. May you find your inner greatness and follow this path, even if only in your mind to start. All dreams do come true; begin walking in the path of your truth and see the most wonderful things unfold.

All my love,

Sandra

This is a festive time with many celebrations going on. I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday. May it be full of laughter, joy, and peace. It is a time to show love and be love. I want to share something that was sent to me about love:

Remember LOVE

Call moments of love to you by being the first to demonstrate LOVE through generous thoughts and actions.

Feel LOVE’s nature, feel its generosity, feel its grace touch you.

In the moments of love your heart is open to receive but also to demonstrate freely what love can bring to the lives of others. Choose to express love freely without holding it back, without needing it returned in a precise way.

LOVE IS the most powerful thing.

Namaste !

I have spent the last year facing and acknowledging my fears, letting them go and opening myself up to love – giving and receiving. These words remind me that sometimes I need to be the one to show love first even if it is not returned. This holiday give the gift of love, if even from a distance. Break those barriers… maybe you had a fight with a family member and are not talking – do you even remember what the fight was about? Can you forgive and move past this? If this is too hard to do physically, in the person’s presence, then find it in your heart to send love from your a distance: your heart to their heart — telepathically. Energy travels.

From my family to yours we want to wish people celebrating… a happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, happy Kwanzaa and if I missed anything, that too!

Enjoy this time, be in the moment, go with the flow and slow down. Many of us are always in the doing stage… now is the time to BE.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: happy chanukah, happy kwanzaa, how to enjoy the holidays, Merry Christmas

My bestfriend was over yesterday before she left for her winter vacation. We were talking and she said she received a call to attend an open-forum discussion that was happening the next night to discuss “specialty” schools with specific focuses like arts and sports. Her friend had called her because she was considering the sports school, Bill Crothers Secondary School, for her son plays high level tennis and she wants a school that will accommodate his schedule. She is not here but he told her what was going on.

These schools I am talking about are publicly funded and part of the York Region schools. Baythorn Junior school (up to grade which has an arts program-based school physically runs out of Baythorn Junior school, the regular public school. If you live in the area you attend the regular public school and for the arts program-based school you have to audition. Not everyone gets in. This is true for the sports school, Bill Crothers Secondary School. There are two streams, the regular high school program and the sports program.

It appears that some adults have come together because they are upset their children did not get into these programs and they do not feel it is fair. They also feel that the school is exclusive and does not include the other kids from the regular program. Let’s say this is not entirely the whole case for these parents of the kids that did not get in to their desired schools. There may be more to this. What concerns me is that they want to close down these “specialty” schools. I am astonished. I feel for the parent whose child did not get into a program however what are we teaching our children by shutting down the school where other kids benefit, learn and grow. Perhaps there needs to be a review of the entrance process or some changes to the system. Why close down the whole school?

Part of the problem for me, is that we have forgotten the benefit of failure – it’s almost taboo in our society. We don’t want to let our children fall, fail or get hurt. Why???? Failure is the only option to learning and growing. Why does failure have to be a bad thing. If you want something bad enough and perhaps you do not have what it takes to get into an exclusive program, is it not better to support our children by guiding them and teaching them how to look at their failure, what worked and what didn’t, and to make changes that will alter the outcome. Then encourage them to TRY AGAIN.

I know a man who wrote his LSAT 8 times because he desperately wanted to be a lawyer. His parents didn’t try and close all of the law schools across the country. Instead they encouraged him to go back and do his best until he got what he wanted.

After my friend relayed this information I turned to her and said, the irony is that it is these same baby boomer parents that complain that the young kids today are so entitled, lazy and don’t want to work hard for anything and expect everything. HUM, are these adults not part of the problem if not the whole problem?!

My son has failed to make certain teams that he wanted to play on and I hugged him and said next year if you want to try again we can make some changes in what you are doing and you can go for it again. Like a baby learning to walk, I will be the parent who stands beside him and when he falls I will help him up and encourage him to take those next few steps. If he decides to quit trying that will be his choice however I will remind him that not everything we want comes to us first try or in the way we desire. We need to stay open to the possibilities.

My son wants to go on scholarship for football to LSU, in the US. I don’t want to tell him that there are very few if at all, scholarships for Canadians to play football in the US. What I did tell him is that I will help him create a vision board and so he can lay his dream down on paper for him to see. I will also ask him to stay open to possibilities.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend. We all love our children and want the best for them. Rather than trying to fix everything let your child explore, learn, fall, fail and grow. There is nothing wrong with supporting them along the way.

Enjoy your weekend.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: Bill Crothers Secondary School, Challenging the systems, failure, how to learn from failure, parents responsibility

I have taken on some pretty heavy topics in the last few weeks so today I want to lighten it up and shift the energy.

Today I want to focus on reconnecting. I received an email from someone who I haven’t really spoken to in a long time. He lives in New York and we developed a friendship after attending a workshop together many years ago. He helped me begin and launch my work on empowerment and for that I am grateful. He introduced me to some really wonderful people, who, as I connect my dots backwards, are playing a part in my forthcoming book for youth: So What’s Your Point, a youth handbook and tools for lifeskills, mentoring, guidance and more.

He sent me a note the other day to inform me of a mutual friend of ours who is struggling with breast cancer. She did not have coverage and decided to do her treatments in Mexico with specialized doctors. She called me when she returned to the US and we spoke for a bit. I am really glad she shared with me what she is going through so I can support her in any way that I can. When he sent me the note recently he was not aware that we had reconnected. He let me know she had been rushed to the hospital and now she is out. I will reach out to her.

I sat back when I got the email and thought about all the people in my life that I am reconnecting with. It has been weird for a while for people are popping back into my life, even if for only briefly to allow me to either look at that friendship and decide if I want to bring it back in or happy with where it is at. I been contacted by people who want to present business ideas, a friend from university days that I lost touch with, and yesterday I spoke to a woman who I was connected with out of California and I told her that I am putting her in my book as a reference to our work that was done. She was grateful.

It is the feeling I am getting while writing my book, that all the choices and decisions that I made over the last 14 years are coming forward as I connect the dots; All the courses I took, the workshops I led, the personal work and the people I have worked with for my own journey and growth, the books and articles I have read and articles I have written– all this is coming forward and somehow being brought into my work. As for the people I am reconnecting with, I am stepping back and just being in the moment. With the business opportunities that I am presented with, I feel good that these people see me as someone worthy of working with, MLM or traditional. With my friend from university she is going through a divorce and I am guiding her the best I can. I did tell her that this is her learning and journey and I can only guide her for she must do the work.

As we approach the holiday season to spend time with family and friends, think about who you may want to reconnect with. A friend of mine just lost her father to alzheimers after a 13 year battle with it. She said that her father’s best friend came up to her after the funeral and said he was upset that he didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. He was not told in the last two weeks prior to his friend’s death that something had changed. I hope that this man finds forgiveness for himself and can find his way to say goodbye. As for you, take time to think about who in your life would you like to reconnect with. I am not talking about the past boyfriend or girlfriend that in your mind you have created an illusion that you will see each other and everything will be the same. No, that is setting yourself up for failure. I hope that at this point in your life you are happy with your choices and if not than go within and see why YOU are not happy. I am talking about the frienships that were so strong at one point in your life and for some reason just dissolved for no apparent reason – maybe distance, maybe time. Connect. Use this time to reach out and say hi, sorry, how are you?, I missed you.

I went to a party last week to celebrate the birthday of this woman who turned 95 years old. She now lives in a retirement home and when she moved in she was unaware that one of her good friends from years past was living right across the hall from her. I spoke to the friend and she said, we reconnected like old friends as if no time had passed. I loved hearing that.

I want to wish everyone a wonderful weekend. Connect and reconnect.

All my love,

Sandra

Tags: friends, reaching out to people, reconnecting people

Some of you are interested in the affairs of the world and want to know what is going on and others just want to know what’s going on in their own lives. We all have issues and concerns to deal with. Sometimes, though, you need to become aware of things that are impacting you, maybe not readily seen today, however being seen and subtly impacting, more and more.

What I am referring to is the Kyoto Protocol. I can no longer sit back and watch the leaders (that’s what they call themselves) of the world behave like feet stamping children. At dinner the other night I was sitting with my older son, Isaac (turning 12 years old) and my boyfriend. I like to sit down and talk about our day, even if this lasts for only 15-20 minutes. Just prior to dinner I received a call from an irate friend who told me she is so angry that Canada may pull out of the Kyoto Protocol and take other countries with it. She goes on to say that no one cares about this earth and we always wait until a big catastrophe to respond. She is right. I said, rather than complaining to me DO something. Start a movement! She had to go and of course I am now feeling the remnants of this conversation. So when I sat at dinner and was talking to Isaac about life, school, I turned to him and said that I want you to know that you and Alec and all of your friends are inheriting a crappy earth from us. We are ruining your earth and not doing anything about it. I am not sure if you will have clean running water to drink, clean air to breathe, green land to grow food and so on. He asked me why? I explained a little about the Kyoto Protocol and all these countries came together to set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He did not look happy and said what can we do. I challenged him to send a petition around to his friends and have them pass it on to other friends, in other schools and begin reaching all the kids in Vaughan and York region. Together, I said, you can create a voice, let the “leaders” know you are mad and want change. So he did. Here is the petition that my son, Isaac, sent around to his friends. I too sent it to hundreds of people I know.

Isaac Finkelstein’s Petition:

THEY’RE RUINING OUR WORLD!!!

ok guys im starting a petition to save our world, starting with canada. did you know that canada is considering dropping out of the kyoto agreement and influencing other countries to do the same!! that’s the agreement to lower greenhouse emissions in the world and stop climate change. do you care? say we dont do anything about this, in less that a decade you will be seeing even more dramatic weather changes, example: floods/tsunamies that can wipe out cities and maybe even countries, frequent tornados/hurricanes. if you dont care no one will. we are the future voters and leaders of canada, but we can have a voice now. do we really want us and our families living in a destructive environment. i hope everybody else will care as much as i do. send this around to everyone you know and have them sign their first name and school or work. please dont comment unless you’re adding to the petition.

I received so many people who signed this petition and agree with him. I also received a call from a close friend, Mary, and her boyfriend, Gerry who brought to my attention that Canada has some concerns over the Kyoto Protocol and does not want to commit to the second leg, starting in 2012. I thanked them, for I do know there are always two sides. Isaac also sent this to his principal and she asked if he will join the eco team and put something together to present to them and then the school. Feeling a little bad because I have now committed my son to a new task, I said I will help him. Last night I spent 1 1/2 hours researching the Kyoto Protocol and read some of the more recent articles about this topic. When I was finished I was even more mad that the supposed leaders of this world are failing us, and our children.

I decided to take all of this new found knowledge and write a letter to my boys, Isaac and Alec, and let them know what exactly is going on. I hope this inspires them to lead and get others to lead in this fight to save their world.

Dear Isaac and Alec,

It is with sadness and anger that I write this letter to you to tell you that the leaders of Canada, both present and past, have let you down and failed you. In 1997, before I was even married, and you were born, Canada along with 36 other countries committed itself to being part of a group that agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This agreement is known as the Kyoto Protocol and was adopted in Dec. 1997, Kyotoy, Japan, implemented in Marrakesh in 2001 and entered into force on Feb. 16, 2005.

Canada agreed to reduce our GHG by 5% to bring us to 1990 levels. This would be done over a 5 year period between 2008 and 2012. All the countries at the time agreed that it was the developed countries, the HAVE countries (Canada, Japan, Europe, eastern Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Iceland and so on) that were bigger contributors and primarily responsible for the high levels of GHG. It is due to the result of 150 years of industrialized activity – mining, coal, gasoline and wood burning.

With everyone committing, the goal was to truly put our attention to global emission reduction.

In the Kyoto Protocol agreement they asked for each country, known as Parties, to be accountable and responsible. This would be done through various measures- every year Canada and the other countries had to register in an international log book their GHG levels, show we are meeting our commitments, show if we are helping other countries meet theirs, develop and create programs that would help reduce GHG in Canada and abroad, and of course, help those countries who are not as well equipped as us, to deal with the adverse effects of climate change – floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, and so on. They even put a fund together to help give money to these programs.

Sounds good so far, right. The first phase is to finish in 2012 and the countries are meeting once again in Durban, South Africa, to talk about the next leg of commitment. Well, how did we do in the first round?? I cannot speak for other countries, but what I can say about Canada is that we failed to meet our commitment. Not only have we not reduced our GHG, we have increased it by anywhere from 17% to 30% – (depending on what article I read). Climate change continues to be a huge problem. Of course, Canada is not the only one to fail, so many of the largest contributors of GHG, with the largest populations (US, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and China) are doing nothing to prevent global warming and reduce their GHG and will not be part of the new accord.

Isaac and Alec, some people out there say that there is no science behind global warming and climate change. Here is the truth, the global temperature has been rising consistently at an alarming rate and as we’ve talked about there is more ice melting in the Arctic, more devastating weather catastrophes being seen around the world and it is predicted that the global temperature will rise more than 2% by the end of the century. At this point I will be dead and you will have your own families. What does this mean? Some scientists say this is a tipping point for climate and the planet will not reduce its temperature for perhaps another 1000 years. This increase in temperature is creating real problems in the Arctic. Not only is the ice melting, the ground is melting as well and shorelines are changing. Buildings and pipelines are sinking, trees are leaning at odd angels and animals and plants that have been frozen for 1000s of years are thawing out. The decay of this organic matter (you learned this in school!) is causing an increase in methane release – which is one of the six GHG we are trying to reduce.

Since Canada wasn’t going to meet its target of reducing GHG below 1990 levels, it then said it will reduce GHG to 2000 levels by 2020. How are we going to do this when we are considering pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol. Do we have another plan of action? I took a greater look into this. Why would Canada want to pull out of Kyoto? It turns out that in the Kyoto Protocol there are the Have/wealthier countries, like Canada, and the Have NOT/poorer countries. These are countries which they consider to be less developed and not as wealthy, sometimes called the emerging countries. This includes China, India, Brazil and Russia. Some of these countries are not in the original Kyoto agreement and today they need to be. Even the United States, our biggest trading partner, does not want to be part of it. These are countries with huge populations of over 100 million. Canada does not even come close. Canada’s leader tells the Kyoto Protocol that these countries are some of the biggest contributors to GHG, have the largest populations and are wealthy. China is today, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, also one of the largest. They have increased their GHG levels 180% since 1990 yet they refuse to be part of the Kyoto agreement because China says that it wants to see more of the developed countries, like Canada, act first and honour their commitment.

This is where I get angry. Isaac and Alec there are leaders who hold position of power and then there are those who lead and inspire us. What we have in this world right now is the leader of power, the one full of ego and manipulation and greed. These are NOT leaders who inspire us. These men and women, who say they represent the best interest of our people and country, sit there and like children point fingers, blame, take no accountability and responsibility. Rather than coming together, evaluating what part of the original Kyoto Protocol worked (if anything), how can they make changes and bring in the countries which were not part of the original agreement yet are some of the biggest contributors, to join hands and work together in a collaborative way to make this world cleaner, healthier and safer for our children and their children, instead, they “stamp their feet” and say I’m not going to do this. Alec what happens when you decide to not do your art work or a writing assignment – I get a call from the teacher saying that you are not listening and behaving. You are 9 years old. Here we have grown men and women who cannot put their egos aside and come together for the best interest of the world.

You will hear that the environment is not really such a big issue, we need to put more attention to jobs and growing the economy – make sure we have money to pay for things. Your question needs to be, why can we not do both? What does one have to do with the other? You do have a voice and you, all the children, need to make those adults who make our decisions listen – they work for you and I. Canada doesn’t want to be a part of the next round of the Kyoto agreement then what is it going to do instead? How is it going to reduce GHG? We don’t want to hear any more lies and lip service – How are we going to stop our excessive use of fossil fuels, over fishing and extreme deforestation? Do our leaders have the guts to stand up to the oil and gas companies and start to give money to people and companies that are willing and capable of designing and creating alternative sources of energy like solar and nuclear power? Will you demand that we stop burning gasoline, coal and wood which contributes to GHG?

This letter comes from love and I hope that I have inspired you to action. You are the future leaders and perhaps it will be up to you and all the children of the world to show the adults how it is done – collaboration, compassion, concern for all peoples – and develope the alternative sources that we need so desperately in our world.

For now, keep asking questions, demand answers and action that is accountable and measurable. The leadership groups that have been formed to date are ineffective and mean nothing because the leaders of the countries, including our own, sign agreements with no intention of keeping them. Do not learn from this rather, you be the leaders who inspire, walk your talk, be authentic, be accountable and responsible and you can bring about the changes you want to see in this world.

I love you,

mom
xo

For those reading this I hope I have given you food for thought. Some of you will agree and others will disagree. I am ok with both. We need to begin to make changes, work together and put aside our differences for the greater good of all people. I want my children to have a green world, that is safe to exist in.

I want to wish everyone a wonderful weekend.

With all my love,

Sandra

Tags: canada and kyoto, climate change, environment, kyoto protocol, save our planet earth, suzuki

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