I am over 3,000 KM from Canada. From here in Guatemala I am very hopeful for what the new government is doing.
There is a lot going on back home that I am proud of.
Many Canadians are standing up to help the refugees from Syria.
We are re-entering the global scene on dealing with climate change.
We have unmuzzled our government funded scientists.
We have re-instituted the long form census.
We seem to be on the road toward making things better for our aboriginal people.
We have a federal government which appears to be willing to listen to our diverse population and try to move us into a more open and progressive society by consensus.
But from down here in Central America, I am hopeful for a few other things as well.
I am hoping that we return to being the world's leader in peacekeeping forces.
That we return to being one of the best places in the world to raise children.
That we stop allowing Canadian companies to despoil other nations for the sake of profit.
That we strive to remove corruption from all our international dealings, NGOs, grants, aid and corporate.
We cannot fix everything at once, and even the items on this list will be only a start, but we do need to start.
The cynic in me says that soon we will go back to politics as usual, and there will be little substantive change.
But somewhere down deep inside, I am so very very hopeful.
Thursday 26 November 2015
Sunday 15 November 2015
A view from the top
Three photos that together make about a 190 degree view of Lake Atitlan taken from the roof of Hostel Pinocchio.
The weather here has been odd, a little wetter than usual for this time of year, but it has made for wonderfully languid afternoons, and the rain has made time for great conversations.
The photos start from the right with the San Pedro Volcano's peak hidden by cloud and show a hint of the expanse of the lake and the shore line. Most of the area around the lake is too steep for anything, though there are a lot of places where there are fields on very steep slopes.
The weather here has been odd, a little wetter than usual for this time of year, but it has made for wonderfully languid afternoons, and the rain has made time for great conversations.
Saturday 14 November 2015
My struggle.
There are times I really struggle with communication.
How do you talk to people who think that the only way to communicate to the world is through terrorism?
That violence shows you are right?
That might is right?
There is such a disconnect in my mind about this.
I do remember being a teenage kid, wanting to use force to get my way and knowing that I would be beaten up for my trouble. We rage against the walls that law, church and family put around us to want the world to just be the way that we believe it should be. That point when the world needs to revolve around our own wants only. And I also knew deep down that I was being unfair to the rest of the world.
It has been a long time since I talked directly with anyone who felt that using violence strengthened their political/religious place in the world.
I would love to be able to hold a mirror up to them, and ask what it is that they see?
If you would rather die than change, and would rather kill than lead, what are you trying to do?
If no force in the world can change your mind and attitude, why do you think that others should join your side?
My attitude is this, if your way is truly superior, if your way leads to a better life and prosperity, then all you have to do is live it and you will win. Forcing anyone to your way shows that it is inferior. Showing them how happy you and your friends and family are, how grand life can be, is the ultimate way to 'win'.
I have long held the personal belief that in politics, religion, and lifestyle, whoever initiates violence has lost, no matter the words spoken or who is left standing.
There are many other thoughts tangled up in my mind, wanting to shout and yell and scream. And cry. We can be better.
We desperately need to be better.
How do you talk to people who think that the only way to communicate to the world is through terrorism?
That violence shows you are right?
That might is right?
There is such a disconnect in my mind about this.
I do remember being a teenage kid, wanting to use force to get my way and knowing that I would be beaten up for my trouble. We rage against the walls that law, church and family put around us to want the world to just be the way that we believe it should be. That point when the world needs to revolve around our own wants only. And I also knew deep down that I was being unfair to the rest of the world.
It has been a long time since I talked directly with anyone who felt that using violence strengthened their political/religious place in the world.
I would love to be able to hold a mirror up to them, and ask what it is that they see?
If you would rather die than change, and would rather kill than lead, what are you trying to do?
If no force in the world can change your mind and attitude, why do you think that others should join your side?
My attitude is this, if your way is truly superior, if your way leads to a better life and prosperity, then all you have to do is live it and you will win. Forcing anyone to your way shows that it is inferior. Showing them how happy you and your friends and family are, how grand life can be, is the ultimate way to 'win'.
I have long held the personal belief that in politics, religion, and lifestyle, whoever initiates violence has lost, no matter the words spoken or who is left standing.
There are many other thoughts tangled up in my mind, wanting to shout and yell and scream. And cry. We can be better.
We desperately need to be better.
Monday 9 November 2015
Not News
I am getting tired of the non-news that is filling up the world.
Starbucks can put whatever they want on the cups. Get over it. If it really does offend you take your $ elsewhere.
If a store starts to decorate for a season too soon for you, take your $ elsewhere.
People say things that offend you? If it does not threaten your life and livelihood, take your indignation into private and just get over it.
If you do not like some one's opinion, use polite discourse to change their mind. And if nothing in the world can make you change your own mind...... you are the problem, not the people you are hurling vitriol at.
Anonymity is the mask of a coward. If you hurl insults and threats from shadows you are lower than a bully and the only thing you deserve is to fade from life and be alone in your anger. If you want to join the human race and have your opinion heard, stand in the light and speak up.
Be pleasant to the police. It does not always mean they will be pleasant to you, but the odds are much higher if you start with a smile than if your first response is anger.
Don't want your children to be vaccinated? No problem. If they have horrible medical problems because of your decision, you get to pay the full cost. If they die, you get charged with premeditated murder.
If you truly want to be free, and be able to do what you want, give others that very same freedom.
I guess somehow this post morphed from petty to serious issues. Mostly what I am wanting to say is that there are more than enough truly serious issues in the world that need solving and for the truly trivial things that crop up, get over it or get counseling.
And most of all, please keep your indignation over the trivial from my news feed.
Starbucks can put whatever they want on the cups. Get over it. If it really does offend you take your $ elsewhere.
If a store starts to decorate for a season too soon for you, take your $ elsewhere.
People say things that offend you? If it does not threaten your life and livelihood, take your indignation into private and just get over it.
If you do not like some one's opinion, use polite discourse to change their mind. And if nothing in the world can make you change your own mind...... you are the problem, not the people you are hurling vitriol at.
Anonymity is the mask of a coward. If you hurl insults and threats from shadows you are lower than a bully and the only thing you deserve is to fade from life and be alone in your anger. If you want to join the human race and have your opinion heard, stand in the light and speak up.
Be pleasant to the police. It does not always mean they will be pleasant to you, but the odds are much higher if you start with a smile than if your first response is anger.
Don't want your children to be vaccinated? No problem. If they have horrible medical problems because of your decision, you get to pay the full cost. If they die, you get charged with premeditated murder.
If you truly want to be free, and be able to do what you want, give others that very same freedom.
I guess somehow this post morphed from petty to serious issues. Mostly what I am wanting to say is that there are more than enough truly serious issues in the world that need solving and for the truly trivial things that crop up, get over it or get counseling.
And most of all, please keep your indignation over the trivial from my news feed.
Sunday 8 November 2015
Antigua, 2015
Once again I have found myself in Antigua Guatemala. This time around, I did a walk through the local market, avoiding most of the tourist stalls and winding my way through the small stalls and glancing at what the local had for sale.
If I even slowed down in my walk, the vendor I was in front of immediately started to talk in Spanish about what they had and hoe great their prices were, and as I moved along, this chant was passed from place to place. The thing that always hits me in looking at these many small stores is the dichotomy between both how similar they all are and at the same time how different they are. There are stalls that virtually the same, the same brands and articles and colours that can make you think there is no difference between them, and a slow blending as you move and the next few stalls carry more and more different things so that by the time you have passed fifteen places, the stall has totally different stock, but the echoes of the first one remain, and it all somehow blends.
For some reason, I was reluctant to haul out my camera, and this time I settled for watching the people and things around me with trying to capture it to share the visuals. The whole place was busier than I have seen before, with a lot of foot traffic during the day and a steady stream of vehicles in the late afternoon. There was a celebration issuing from a large church, I am unsure as to what was going on, but it was less of a religious feel than a celebration, and a local said it was about the founding of the church. It made for crowded roads and hordes of people in a good mood.
Earlier I had parked my butt on a park bench, enjoying the day and reading a book. A local came to share the bench, and we began to talk.
Two hours later we switched to a bench in the shade and continued.
He was only five years younger than me, and curious about Canada, the differences between canada and the USA, and in how I saw Guatemala. He seemed to be quite interested in the world at large even if he had never traveled outside of Guatemala, and was just beginning to learning about Canada. That is not all that we talked about, and the whole range included human rights, gay marriage, violence, the military and veterans, children and family, religion and our over all view of the world.
As my way was blocked by the stream of people heading to the church, I started to ask three other tourists what they were doing. A long conversation evolved out of that as they were on a missionary journey that would take them to at least two more continents, and they were curious about my view on god and religion, so for the second time that afternoon, I ended up in a talk about what I believe and a bit of it was how my belief has changed. I will not go into the discussion at this time, but it was both pleasant and not heated.
All in all an interesting day in Antigua, and although I am heading on to San Pedro, I will be looking forward to returning here again.
If I even slowed down in my walk, the vendor I was in front of immediately started to talk in Spanish about what they had and hoe great their prices were, and as I moved along, this chant was passed from place to place. The thing that always hits me in looking at these many small stores is the dichotomy between both how similar they all are and at the same time how different they are. There are stalls that virtually the same, the same brands and articles and colours that can make you think there is no difference between them, and a slow blending as you move and the next few stalls carry more and more different things so that by the time you have passed fifteen places, the stall has totally different stock, but the echoes of the first one remain, and it all somehow blends.
For some reason, I was reluctant to haul out my camera, and this time I settled for watching the people and things around me with trying to capture it to share the visuals. The whole place was busier than I have seen before, with a lot of foot traffic during the day and a steady stream of vehicles in the late afternoon. There was a celebration issuing from a large church, I am unsure as to what was going on, but it was less of a religious feel than a celebration, and a local said it was about the founding of the church. It made for crowded roads and hordes of people in a good mood.
Earlier I had parked my butt on a park bench, enjoying the day and reading a book. A local came to share the bench, and we began to talk.
Two hours later we switched to a bench in the shade and continued.
He was only five years younger than me, and curious about Canada, the differences between canada and the USA, and in how I saw Guatemala. He seemed to be quite interested in the world at large even if he had never traveled outside of Guatemala, and was just beginning to learning about Canada. That is not all that we talked about, and the whole range included human rights, gay marriage, violence, the military and veterans, children and family, religion and our over all view of the world.
As my way was blocked by the stream of people heading to the church, I started to ask three other tourists what they were doing. A long conversation evolved out of that as they were on a missionary journey that would take them to at least two more continents, and they were curious about my view on god and religion, so for the second time that afternoon, I ended up in a talk about what I believe and a bit of it was how my belief has changed. I will not go into the discussion at this time, but it was both pleasant and not heated.
All in all an interesting day in Antigua, and although I am heading on to San Pedro, I will be looking forward to returning here again.
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