Scandal

I find it easy to get caught up in all the speculation about the political scandal that’s brewing around the Prime Minister’s office (not to mention the Toronto mayor, the London mayor, election manipulation through deceptive robo-calls, and the political payoffs in Montreal). The storyline reads like that of a detective novel: Why did Nigel Wright, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, give $90,000 to Senator Mike Duffy (a man who shouldn’t even be a senator from PEI because he doesn’t reside in PEI)? Who did what? Who knows what? And when did they know it? Each night I watch the news to hear the plot as it unfolds. It’s human nature to get caught in the story.

But it’s also human nature to bring more than mere curiosity to the intrigue. If I look through a spiritual and ethical lens, I begin to wonder how I am connected to the scandal. Am I just an observer? Or does my connection go much deeper? Do we, as citizens, contribute to these scandals by our lack of democratic participation, our lack of attention to the political sphere? Do politicians and their staff think they can get away with things because they’re assuming that Canadians are interested only in the issues that affect their own financial bottom-line? Are they right?

Perhaps, the deeper scandal is the way that we, as Canadians, have taken our democracy for granted --- so much so that it is slipping away from us without our even noticing it.

Sue Wilson, CSJ

Weekly Pause & Ponder

"We have known for a long time that poverty can destroy the body and render the soul deaf and insensitive. What has yet to be learned is that overabundance of things and enjoyments also devours the soul. An appropriate relation to things, one that does not overwhelm the senses, cannot grow when things are ever-present for our consumption....An appropriate relation to things, one that allows the erotic dimension of our being to come into its own, cannot develop as long as we consume things indiscriminately simply because they are always over abundantly available. Overabundance destroys the intensity of people and their capacity to enjoy and to be related."

P.221, The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance, by Dorothee Soelle, Fortress Press, Minenapolis, 2001.

Aging: a time to be “the Patient Patient”

In his ever buoyant fashion, Joe Schlesinger describes the perils and pearls of aging in which he is now engaged. “I have a new job. I've been a journalist for 65 years. Nowadays, though, my main job is being a patient, seeing doctors and other medical practitioners.” First, there is my GP, of course. Behind him, an army of specialists: a rheumatologist, a cardiologist, several orthopedists and neurologists, a dermatologist, periodontist, as well as a dentist, an optometrist, audiologist, pharmacist, naturopath and physiotherapist, to say nothing of the trainer who tries to keep mobile what Shakespeare called the "shrunk shank" of old age.”

For many of us, engaged in the aging process personally or who journey with an aged loved one, we recognize the many facets of aging described by Joe. When physical limitations creep up and eventually take over one’s normal life-style, the challenge of facing life becomes even greater. Life is not just in the limbs, because as Joe points out, with our modern technology, there are many ways in which our living is enhanced. (for example, hip, knee, ankle, shoulder replacements, etc.) Joe himself says he is on his third hip replacement and it is doing well.

There is a psychological change that accompanies the need to have to resort to using a wheel chair, walker or cane. We no longer experience ourselves, as we were, nor do others see us as we have been known. This changes our view of life in general: we can either give up and be totally dependent on others OR we can choose to be as independent as possible and create a beautiful bond of interdependence with our care-givers.

When this happens, and it inevitably will, what keeps a person going? One of the treasures of aging well, is the ability to look upon life as GIFT and whatever can be done through our modern science and technology as another gift for us to embrace. This attitude of being gifted helps one to not just cope with debilitation, but to actually find meaning in new ways: for example, to accept the need of help from others who lovingly give it as needed; to learn how one can continue to be a presence with and for others; to learn new ways of making this world a better place. Above all, this involves a very intentional decision to foster the good in life, to keep positive amidst the challenges. The waning of mental abilities also brings its own challenges with memory loss being a big part of this.

For Joe, it is “…a loving family, cherished friends and the treasures of nice dinners, music and reading. Those are the elixirs that make life worth living .... But there is one more thing that occupies my mind, and that is keeping up as best I can with the turbulence of the world I've inhabited these 85 years.

One of the best ways to give the brain a thorough workout is to try to unravel the complexities of the politics of countries such as Israel, Iran and Italy. So I keep on exploring what's happening in distant parts of the world, often saddened by the turn of events and outraged by outbursts of brutality, but now and then also delighted by the triumphs of the human spirit.

I have, in a way, the whole world in my hands, the world of all that is near and dear to me as well as much of what lies far beyond the horizon.  All this thanks to a lot of doctors and all those pills I swallow.”

Thanks, Joe for your inspiration and courage as we, who are aging, journey with you in spirit and in some cases in reality.

See also Joe’s interview with Adrienne Arseneault 

Kathleen Lichti csj

Precarious Work in Canada

Watching the news over the last couple of weeks, a clearer and disturbing trend seems to be emerging around the question of work. First we had the employee of RBC protesting the loss of his job with the bank to temporary foreign workers that the bank was bringing into Canada to train at a lower wage, and then sending them back to India where the IT job went with them. We see how Loblaw’s Joe Fresh brand of cheap clothing was being made by workers in Bangladesh who lost their lives in a factory that had been identified as unsafe but who had been forced to work in a locked building. And since then, it seems these were not isolated examples of employment, but we see that many work places are using similar practices. The gains for good secure jobs the union movement worked so hard over decades to secure, is rapidly disappearing. Precarious work is changing the employment picture for hundreds of thousands of workers in Canada and millions around the world.

It seems employers want a cheap workforce and at almost any cost. In place of regular work, more and more jobs have become temporary, agency, part-time, irregular, forced self-employment, limited contract and low income. These are precarious jobs. Work is stripped of benefits and protections. Workers are stripped of their rights and security. 

This trend is not new. Bad jobs have been around for a long time. But now employers are using the economic crisis to accelerate this disturbing trend. And it seems that governments, including Canada, are supporting employers in their demand for cheap labour by weakening labour laws and employment standards and eroding the social safety net. Statistical information from 2008 shows that only 64% of jobs are full time and permanent jobs. Over 36% of employed workers are in temporary, part-time or self-employment. This represents a dramatic change from the past.

In the absence of good jobs and adequate income supports many laid-off workers, and an even a higher proportion of women, older workers, immigrants and workers of colour, and young people wanting to enter the work force, are forced into these precarious jobs.

Not only are the workers themselves adversely affected, all of us are affected by such employment trends. Today’s secure job can easily become tomorrow’s precarious work.  Good jobs are undermined by low wages, poor benefits and unstable hours of work.  Economic recovery and renewal can’t be built on precarious jobs. In fact, the expansion of bad jobs threatens the security of families, the fabric of our communities and our hopes for a better tomorrow. As Canadians we must raise our voices to reverse this trend.

Joan Atkinson, CSJ

“A mom's hug lasts long after she lets go.”

As Mother’s Day approaches, our thoughts naturally turn to memories of our mom. Many of us, fortunately, can recall with grateful hearts the nurturing love and guidance we received from the one who birthed us. Mom was the one who literally or figuratively, kissed our hurts, trying to make us feel better. She was that special individual in our lives whose constant love steadied us with love, guidance and example. Mother’s Day is a day rightfully set aside annually to give special honour to mothers.  

However, Mother’s Day, also offers us an opportunity to acknowledge and be grateful for the other women in our lives who have been our maternal supporters: those special women who have stood by us with their constant concern and caring, those women who have mentored us in our careers, those feminine sages whose wisdom has supported us in our life choices, and those women who have inspired us by the quality of their lives.

In celebrating Mother’s Day this year, perhaps we could find a way to gratefully acknowledge the love of the other women who have shaped the person we have become.

Nancy Wales csj

Quote: “A mom's hug lasts long after she lets go.” ~Author Unknown