Daniela Ginta, Freelance Writer

Gratitude makes the journey better. Kindness, too.

Category: Social issues Page 7 of 32

Weekly Column: Gratitude makes everything a lot better

By

On December 26, 2019

In Environment, Health, Kamloops, Life Stories, Self-improvement, Social issues

Originally published as a column on CFJC Today Kamloops and Armchair Mayor News on December 23, 2019.

Most days the boys come home from school saying the day was OK. Every now and then something more than ordinary happens and the usual non-descriptive OK is replaced by stories, good and bad. A couple of weeks ago our youngest came home with such a story – a good one.

That day, their Career Planning teacher told them, among others, that gratitude makes life better. He told them stories about people who went through hard times and became that much more grateful for what they had even when almost everything had been taken away from them.

Another time, the woodwork teacher told them that they are fortunate to be able to go to school and have access to so many learning resources. We often talked about this in our home. It is hard to put in in words how good many people have it here. And having it good comes with moral obligations, I believe.

Read More

Weekly column: Let’s make the holidays this year about people, not sales

By

On December 3, 2019

In Armchair Mayor Column, Climate change, Environment, Kamloops, Life Stories, Self-improvement, Social issues

Originally published as a column on CFJC Today Kamloops and Armchair Mayor News on Monday, December 2, 2019.

I have this simple blade coffee grinder that I use for grinding flax seeds. It lost a knob during one of our many moves, but it still works. No points for looking pretty though. We also have another basic blade coffee grinder, which has all parts and has been fully functional for the last 20 years (OK, we had to sharpen the blade a couple of times). Donating either in favour of new ones might just mean the end of the road for both, since they look past their prime. And then again, why would we? They work just fine.

Read More

Find the place where peace is

By

On November 28, 2019

In Health, Kamloops, Learning, Life Stories, Motherhood, Self-improvement, Social issues

Some people eat too much sugar and others watch too much TV. I read news and get too involved with it. It is good to stay current, no? Yes, but there is a darker side. Many of the stories are upsetting and often times there is no closure after a particularly heartbreaking one. I cover many in my columns, and then I keep on hoping that there will be some resolution, closure for victims and their families. Sadly, that is not the case. Oblivion is a horrible mistress and our faulty justice system enables it.

Read More

Weekly column: A story of heartbreak and hope – My time with Jessie

By

On November 26, 2019

In Armchair Mayor Column, Health, Kamloops, Learning, Life Stories, Motherhood, Social issues

Originally published as a column on CFJC Today Kamloops and Armchair Mayor News on Monday, November 25, 2019.

The first question I hear every time I walk into his room is ‘What are we going to do today?’. My answer is almost always the same, ‘we can read some, or do rhymes, but first I want you to tell me my name.’ He tries a couple of letters and eventually he guesses it right. We do a fist bump and then another. I tell him ‘you are amazing,’ and he smiles. You too, he says.

I first met Jessie last year on November 24th. I did not know what to expect. I had been following the story since it happened, back in June of 2016.

Read More

Weekly column: Gratefulness comes from knowing the price of peace and freedom

By

On November 15, 2019

In Kamloops, Learning, Life Stories, Motherhood, Self-improvement, Social issues

Originally published as a column on CFJC Today Kamloops on Tuesday November 12, 2019.

Just before

It was loud. And it was crowded, way more people than last year. For once, I got there early enough to stand in line, get tickets and go inside with time to spare. Once in, I looked around and everything felt familiar.

I am not a hockey person by any means, though by now I know how a game runs and what this or that means. I did not grow up with it, and when the time came for my boys to choose the sports they liked to try, hockey did not make the cut. No matter.

Read More

To be or not to be (seen) – An argument for the no-tracking search engines

By

On November 13, 2019

In Kamloops, Learning, Life Stories, Self-improvement, Social issues

I remember the first snowfall with our dog. Not because my memory is exquisite and able to retain every detail of my time with the pup, but because this one thing stood out: I could see what her nose was smelling. The many sudden yanks of the leash I had experienced while walking together (and been at times frustrated with) suddenly made sense. The world that I could not see until then had been revealed by that white cover (it sounds a bit backwards and ironic but it is not at all.)

A dog’s world

Read More

Weekly column: Why we ought to see more of the world

By

On November 5, 2019

In Armchair Mayor Column, Climate change, Environment, Health, Kamloops, Learning, Life Stories, Self-improvement, Social issues

Originally published as a column on CFJC Today Kamloops and Armchair Mayor News, on Tuesday November 5, 2019.

This column was to be about fish. Herring to start with. A few reputable conservation groups, including Pacific Wild, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Conservancy Hornby Island and the Association for Denman Island Marine Stewarts, are urging the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to rethink the roe fishery quotas for the herring in the Straight of Georgia (the plan is expected to be finalized in early December.) The stocks are almost 60 percent depleted, their press release said, and that’s happened in the last four years. Shocking isn’t it? Albeit not a local issue, it is a provincial one and a sign of a pervasive and challenging issue.

Read More

Page 7 of 32

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén