Our nation takes time to honour our Veterans each year on November 11. On that day each year, we have the opportunity to attend special ceremonies in person or watch them on television. These honor not only those who died defending our freedoms, but also those who survived some very terrible times.

Earlier in the year we celebrated Thanksgiving – a time when we should have rehearsed what we are deeply thankful. This month highlights one of the most important things we can and should be thankful for – freedom. We have freedom of religion. We have freedom of expression. We have had so many wonderful freedoms and related benefits  – to a great extent because of our Veterans who helped to guarantee these values.

GHOSTS, GOBLINS AND GHOULS

For the past few weeks, we have all seen Halloween decorations in stores and perhaps recipes for “witches brew” and various scary looking cookies and treats in magazines. Our neighborhoods have taken on a more macabre appearance as yards are decorated with spider webs, tombstones and zombies. Schools, and even some churches, have hosted Halloween parties. Many work places have gotten into the swing of things as employees are encouraged to wear costumes.

This will all culminate on the evening of Friday, October 31 as young children make their way through their neighborhoods dressed in costume and asking for treats. It seems like innocent fun, but is it?

Terrorism In Canada

Canada has been in the news around the world this week as we sustained two “home-grown” terrorist attacks. The last one on Parliament Hill was the one that, of course, received the most attention.

How can it be that a nation priding itself on being peace-loving can be attacked by its own citizens who are acting on behalf of outside forces? The attacks were seemingly unexpected and on people who were not directly fighting against ISIS. It seems that their only “sin” was wearing the uniform of our country.

Our nation has been naive in thinking that we are safe here in North America. Sure, nearly everyone got a little nervous after 9/11, but quickly went back to business-as-usual. Yet, for those who study their Bible carefully, terrorism in this country did not come as a surprise. We knew it was only a matter of time.

For many the term “Yom Kippur” is linked to the 1973 Arab-Israeli War when the Arab coalition launched a surprise attack on Israel on the country’s most holy day. Typically on that day, the nation comes to a standstill as the majority of the practicing Jews and some secular Jews fast. They also do not use fire, electricity, or engines. Typically, all communications, road traffic and airports are closed. From a strategic point of view, it was the perfect time to attack the nation.

In 1946 Viktor Frankl wrote the book, Man’s Search For Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy. The book chronicled his experiences in the Auschwitz concentration camp and what he learned from the horrific experience. It has been classified as being in the top ten most influential books published in the United States.

Dr. Frankl concluded that the meaning of life is found in each moment of existence. He believed that even in dire circumstances each of us have a choice of how we will react and whether we will look for hope.

It is that time of year again! Over the past few weeks, many stores have had “back to school” sales featuring what students will need in the classroom this fall. Parents have, no doubt, had conversations with their children regarding what they really need and the family can afford versus what the child wants or what merchants promote.

More and more, the increasing cost of outfitting a child for school with school supplies and new clothes for the school year has become more of a financial burden. I recently spoke to parents who were required to purchase $70 worth of school supplies for their child who was only entering kindergarten!

Summer time is a time when many families get together for quality family time or even a family reunion. You sometimes see this happening in a city park. Some families have special tee-shirts made up with the family name and the year printed on them. Sometimes, it is a time when a person meets a relative they have heard about but have never met before.  At larger events, there is the inevitable discussion about which branch of the family an individual comes from.

This week Hollywood mourns the loss of two of its more famous celebrities. Even in the midst of trouble in Ukraine and the Middle East and riots in Missouri, news broadcasts and social media have focused on these two very different deaths.

Lauren Bacall stared in many notable movies and received an Honorary Academy Award in 2009 in recognition of her work. She died of natural causes just one month prior to her 90th birthday.

On the other hand, the world was shocked to hear of Robin Williams’ suicide at age 63. We wonder how someone who was so jovial could end his life because of deep depression. It was well known that, for much of his career, he suffered from bouts of depression and struggled with alcohol and drug addiction.

In 2006, he sought treatment when he relapsed after 20 years of sobriety. More recently, he had gone into treatment for depression.

This week marked 100 years since the beginning of World War One also known as the Great War. Numerous television documentaries and newspaper stories have been published about this anniversary over the past several weeks.

The trigger was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. It went from there to becoming one of the deadliest wars in history drawing in all the great world powers into two opposing sides.

Canadians are remembered for capturing Vimy Ridge and some say that Canada’s identity was greatly enhanced by this event. At the end of this war, which recorded over 16 million deaths and 20 million wounded, there was very high optimism that this would be the war to end all wars. Of course, as history has shown, the hope of no more war was short lived.

Summer time is so very enjoyable with the warm breezes, sweet scent of flowers, chirping birds, and, of course, the aroma of the outdoor barbeques!

Students are enjoying time off from school and most of us also look forward to some time away from work to recharge the batteries. Getting away for a few days or weeks can be just what is needed to reduce our stress and help us come back refreshed and better able to accomplish our many tasks.

Many people are now opting for “staycations,” which is actually a new word coined to mean a vacation that is taken while staying at home. These staycations can be much less costly, less demanding and potentially more relaxing than traveling with its packing, driving, waiting in airports, waking up in strange surroundings and perhaps eating tainted food.