Patience is a virtue

When we plant a garden, we place tiny seeds into the ground and then we wait for something wonderful to happen.  During that time of waiting we water those seeds to make sure they get proper nourishment.  As they grow, we pull out any weeds that may hinder growth and do any necessary pruning.  The end result is a beautiful garden, full of colourful flowers and plants.

But do we have the same patience in our lives as we do when we plant a garden?  Do we wait for things to happen?  Do we take care of our health with the proper nourishment?  Do we try to remove anything that is causing a bad influence or inflicting pain?  The answer is ‘NO’.  We don’t take care of ourselves with as much care because we lack patience.

Society pressures us to want things NOW.  We learn early in life that we need to be surrounded with lots of stuff and spend money on whatever we want because we deserve it.  So what happens?  We spend lots of money believing that we will find happiness and all this does is put us in debt and results in misery.

Patience is a virtue.  It is the ability to wait for something without getting angry or upset.   Learning to be patient is a process that takes time and effort but it is well worth the effort.   Life would be a lot less stressful and we would be a lot happier if we could just learn to be patient.   

Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.

Stop making those new year’s resolutions

Why do we make New Year’s resolutions?  Because we know that our lives are in chaos, that changes need to be made and deep down we want to be a better person.  The problem is – we don’t keep those resolutions and we slip back into old habits again.  Why does this happen?

When we make a resolution, it is trying to change something that is superficial.  We want to lose weight so we start dieting or exercising.  We want to quit smoking or another bad habit so we promise ourselves that we will stop.  We want to get our houses cleaned up so we try to sort and organize.  We want to stop spending more money than we make and we try to follow a budget.  But this is just the tip of the iceberg.  There is something deeper going on that we should be addressing.  We should ask ourselves why we are doing the thing we don’t want to do.

• Why are we gaining weight?
• Why are we smoking?
• Why are we biting our nails?
• Why is our house so cluttered?
• Why do we spend too much money on things we don’t need?
• Why do we have this bad habit?

We need to check deep inside ourselves and figure out what is causing the problem in the first place.  Is there a relationship issue that needs to be resolved?  Is there an emotional issue that requires professional help?  Do we need an attitude adjustment?  Do we lack the confidence needed to make positive changes?  Do we have supportive people who can give us the push we need to move ahead?

Making change is difficult and we need to understand who we are and why we do the things we do before we can make any lasting changes.  Forget those New Year’s resolutions that you won’t likely keep.  Spend time doing some searching and making positive changes.

 

Ontario minimum wage increase already causing problems

Is this a surprise for anyone?  It certainly doesn’t surprise me.  Everything is happening as I expected.  Raising the minimum wage in Ontario was not a good idea.  It is unfortunate that people are struggling to make ends meet but this was not the answer.  Someone will always make minimum wage even if they raised it to $100 hour and they will still be at the bottom of the wage scale.

Increasing wages from $11.60 to $14.oo is a big jump and it sounds really appealing but it really won’t make any difference in the long run.  People may have an extra $50 a week in their pockets but where do they think this extra money comes from.  Businesses certainly aren’t covering this increase themselves.  It will come from changes within companies.  Prices will increase and there will be cutbacks.  That extra $50 will be needed to cover an increase in groceries, clothing and everything else with a price tag.

Small companies will be hit hard by this increase and some are already cutting out paid breaks and benefits.  Others will shorten hours which will result in smaller paychecks.  And of course some companies will be forced to close causing employees to lose their jobs and be forced to survive on unemployment while trying to find work.  And what kind of burden will be put on the government and our taxes to support more unemployed people?

On the news this morning, they had great news.  Unemployment rates are down.  Yeah, this is wonderful for today BUT the minimum wage increase is predicted to cost Canada between 60,000 – 90,000 jobs by 2019!  So who wins?  Employees who have a bigger paycheque but spend it all because of increased costs?  Employees who make less money because their hours are cut back?  Employees who lose their jobs?  Companies who are forced to close because they can’t afford to pay more wages?  Seniors and others on limited income who have to pay more for products and services?  Personally I don’t see how anyone wins.

Following is an article that outlines the coming problems.  http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bank-of-canada-minimum-wage-1.4469912