GUSTAV YKEMA'S ARTWORK

In life we make choices. They are being made in real time, which means we are deciding under conditions of the moment. Conditions a person factors in while undergoing the process of deciding. These conditions are external as well as internal. Things such as friends who support you with an opinion, your financial situation, family dynamics, environmental circumstances. Internal would include your emotional state of mind, whether you feel under pressure (eg. time constraints). In short there are many, many things your mind will take into account. What prepares you is your past experiences, training and more. You do the best that you can do at that point, and you do have to make that decision.

When looking back you have now accumulated a wealth of lifes’ experiences and may think of that decision made so long ago. Your answer may be different, now that you have experienced the consequences thereof. You will never really know those of the alternative decision. You have become the product of your decisions whether the end product is good or bad will depend on how you accepted the schooling of life. Ideally the result is someone you and others can live with. Someone with pride, respect for others, caring, honest and humble.

Ontario, Georgian Bay by Killbear Park.

Canadians have the fortunate opportunity to acquire a summer cottage.

This is used to get away from the hustle and bustle of their regular city lives; to get

back to the nature we Canadians are so lucky to have at our door-step.

My wife and I have good friends that have chosen to have a cottage. They have many

a time offered us to come up to visit them. The beauty of the nature, the seclusion and

ambiance is to behold. From the lunes diving for fish, the hummingbirds dashing past to

take advantage of the contents the bird feeder, to the rattle snakes sunning on the gravel

roadway, to the black bears making their visits known to all who live there. At night the sounds of

the many insects come to life, but most of all the dancing northern lights (Aurora Borealis).

Sitting in a lawn chair on the front deck you hear the lapping of the water on the shoreline

of granite and sand. Yes, the visual is amazing, but to close your eyes and listen to the life

around you, brings a peace that never tires.

This nature is no longer available to many parts of the planet. Through greed, necessity, global

warming many unique ecosystems have been lost. Humankind has to make a decision, now!

We all have step forward, and say,” Now we must work together to save our planet. Now we

must address hunger. Now we must stop polluting. Now we have to make all those leaders

accountable for their actions. ” These are the issues we need to address, now.

In past years I didn’t realize what was happening to our world. As a child We played outside in nature.

I remember climbing trees, running through fields, drinking water from a spring bubbling through the

ground. I remember the property behind a Sunoco gas station Piled high with empty oil cans, leaching

the left over oil into a nearby creek, we swam in and fished. At the land fill stations we called the dump,

so appropriate for we all dumped everything and anything there. This was happening everywhere all over

the world. We would burying, it was out of sight, we didn’t have to worry about anymore. Ah, not so,

for years later the dumps became parks, residential areas, and yes even schools were built on them.

There was radon emissions and other gasses and the aquafer below became tainted forcing us to

shut down our wells. Our children must pay the price of our ignorance. Those who are motivated by

greed will never concede. There is but one answer and that is we must be on the side of the earth.

It’s all we have and we know what we must do. Support those in government who are willing to take

on the challenge.