Blogs Good Year Revolution

This past month I have been really thinking a lot about how technology has affected our world over the past ten years. With the invention of Iphones and the growing dependency on the Internet, I feel that our culture has become dependent on technology and views it as a convenient way to be more efficient. We have been told that the Internet, email and text messaging offer an affordable and quick way to keep in touch with each other. The Facebook application has definitely served as a modern way to keep up with all the gossip and news from all our “friends”. With this being said, I have noticed a recent trend that people seem to spend less time with each other in person. Instead of actually making real time for each other in the physical realm, we have opted to use Skype and chat rooms to communicate. Although I utilize these technologies everyday and find them quite amazing, I am also feeling a sense of emptiness. It feels as if something is missing in my life and in our culture. With the implementation of these new technologies, we have also become isolated in our little worlds so to speak. Instead of going for coffee or taking a walk with a close friend, I can accomplish more by multitasking in a chatroom with several friends all at once and save on time. As we move towards “saving time” we seem to be sacrificing the quality of our relationships. I’d like to believe that there is something to be said for “quality time” and giving our attention exclusively to one person at a time. Being active listeners and sharing our personal experience in the actual physical presence of another human being opens up our heart and brings meaning to our life. This week I am going to attempt to take a minimum of half an hour per day to get off the Internet and spend it in the presence of another human being. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I recently heard a story about a restaurant owner in Winnipeg who got a call from some customers who had made an advance reservation to have dinner at his restaurant. On the evening of the reservation, the customer’s car broke down and they were unable to get to the restaurant. They called and explained the scenario to the restaurant and apologize for the inconvenience. Upon hearing this, the restaurant owner offered to go pick them up and bring them to the restaurant in his own vehicle. Not only was this an incredible genius business move by the restaurant owner but more importantly, it was a true example of how we all can make a difference in our own way. Every day in our world, there are so many examples of random acts of kindness that happen. The most exciting thing about this is we can all partake in this movement toward creating a better world, by finding small ways to make a difference. This could mean taking someone out to lunch spontaneously. Perhaps it involves giving someone a hug when they are having a bad day. It could be as simple as anonymously plugging the parking meter for a car who’s time has expired. These small acts of kindness at first thought can seem very “cheesy” or unimportant. I would like to suggest however, that if everyone made a commitment to undertake one small random act of kindness each day, we would eradicate many of our differences that separate us in the world. I believe that small steps towards kindness is truly the answer to dispelling fear and hatred towards those we call the “enemy”. I think moving towards a direction of love instead of hate, peace instead of war will actually dispel the fear that is the main root cause for most of the troubles occurring in our world. Why not try a random act of kindness today?

Last night I watched the movie, Precious. For those of you that haven’t seen this movie yet, it is about an overweight, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child and is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction. During the movie, there are a number of scenes with teachers and social workers involved in helping “Precious” work through her deep rooted pain and story. After seeing this movie, I have a new respect for the role that a teacher and/or social worker can play in someone’s life. I thought a lot about my mother, who happens to be a social worker here in Winnipeg. I thought about the amazing teachers that I have met over the years (both in schools and out). It is amazing what these two professions commit their lives to doing. It is truly an example of services to others. So many times in the news we hear stories about how a social worker messed up a certain case or how teachers are not doing their jobs correctly. After seeing this movie and reflecting on the social workers and teachers that I personally know, I have a new admiration for these people. They have truly committed their lives to the service of others. During the movie, there is a scene where one of the teachers goes so far as to offers to share her home with “Precious” and her new baby, during Christmas time. The scene made me think about how many truly incredible people I have met in my lifetime, who are constantly doing these random acts of kindness for others. It gives me hope to think about these people and the openness of their hearts. When I see people like my mother working tireless days to help others in desperate need of care and compassion or teachers that put in the extra hours to make sure their students are comfortable and cared for, it inspires me to want to emulate these principals in my own life. I wanted to express my admiration and deepest respect for all the social workers and teachers in our world, along with all those other professions and people who spend their lives committed to the service of others. You are truly silent heros among us and although you may not always be recognized for your generosity and kindness to others, you are most definitely one of the main reasons why there is still hope for all of us to live in this world.

Today I attended a funeral in my hometown of Ile Des Chenes, MB. It was a woman whom I had known my whole life (she was my neighbor) who’s daughter was in my class as a young child. This woman was only 57yrs old. So young. She had cancer over the last two years and luckily her family had time to grieve and stay by her side right until the end. As I sat in the church listening to the priest speak I watched every one around me. All of these people I grew up with. I pretty much knew everyone in the church. What passed through my mind was: live your life to the fullest and make sure you love what you do. I know it’s an old saying but life is very short and can change overnight. In that moment, I felt blessed to have both my parents sitting beside me, feeling grateful to have them close and reminding me to enjoy every moment in my life.

It was very disappointing today to find out that, according to the Associated Press, that child labour has been used to create Apple products.
Apple reportedly found out this information through its own audits.
Check out more on the report here
In addition to this, the reports confirmed that over 50 factories have been keeping workers on the job for longer than the maximum 60 hour work week and at least 24 Apple factories are paying workers less than the minimum wage.
I find it so sad that part of our world is living the life of luxury and wealth with all the technology and modern-day conveniences at their disposal, but the results come at a cost of taking advantage of and over-working, exploiting and disrespecting the other part of our world.
It just doesn’t seem right that children under the age of 16 are being employed as essentially slaves to make profit for the already wealthy members of our society.
A child’s basic rights should include freedom, having the right to be a child and receiving a proper education. With these recent practices being exposed at Apple, I am left very confused.
I admit that I rely heavily on my Apple computer. It has honestly become the main source of communication for me. I use my computer to create music and carry out business. Without my computer, I sometimes feel like I would be lost. With this being said, I don’t support the practices being carried out at Apple and the revolutionary part of me wants to power down my computer and send it back to Apple, asking for my money back.
It almost feels like a catch 22. I don’t have the answer on how to move forward on this. Do I raise awareness among my circles of friends about this recent news? Even if I raise awareness about it, will anyone really stop using their Apple Computers or I Phones in a culture that is so driven by productivity and consumption?
I welcome any comments, advice and suggestions on what you think would be an effective way to deal with this clearly difficult situation. How are we going to break the cycle of poverty?

We are living in such a fast paced society. It seems that every minute of the day has us rushing around from one event to the next, working overtime to get jobs done and replying to emails, texts. From the minute I wake up in the morning, I find myself rushing around trying to get my “to do” lists accomplished, thinking that eventually it will all get done. For some strange reason, the work loads never stop coming and just when I think I have finished everything on my list, a whole new set of demands and plans arrive. There is not a lot of down time in a typical North American lifestyle. Very recently, I have found myself questioning why we all are moving around so fast, trying to get everything done as efficiently as possible. It makes no sense to rush around, trying to get it all accomplished, especially when it costs one loosing touch with the “now”, the only moment we actually have. I find it so fascinating that we attach to thoughts that make us feel like there is a specific finish line and standard that has to be achieved in order to be successful in society.
This week, I am practicing the art of slowing down my life and realizing that everything will get taken care of in the perfect time, without forcing and rushing through the moments of my day. Through this process, I am discovering that as I do ‘less’, more ironically gets accomplished in the big picture. A few regular practices I am trying to incorporate into my day include, eating my meals slower and enjoying my food, taking 15 minutes first thing in the morning to just breath and do “nothing”, practice being a better listener to the people I encounter throughout the day and scheduling periodic half hour slots though out the day to just spend being present (going for a short walk, napping, breathing). This perhaps sounds very basic but has already started to make a significant difference in my life. I am feeling more energized and peaceful. I am feeling more inspired and positive. Perhaps through letting go of the “finish line” that I created in my head, I can actually spend more of my time naturally gravitating towards my life purpose and destiny, by allowing life to direct me and deliver the right people, circumstances and events at the perfect times, without having to direct force or control it.

We just picked up our 4th album yesterday at the manufacturing company. Hot off the press! It’s exciting to know we’ve been lucky enough to have released four albums up to now. To think I was gonna be singing and songwriting (my two favorite things) as a career leaves me feeling very grateful. When we were driving on our way to pick up the cd, I all of a sudden became very nervous. I even said to Keith: do we have to go get them now? Deep down I knew why I was doing this. I was afraid I wasn’t gonna like the finished results. I was afraid it wasn’t gonna be good enough or measure up to all the other cd’s out in the world. I hate to admit this but it’s true. We can get so critical of ourselves. I refuse to read any write up’s on us in the papers and I don’t enjoy listening to my interviews either. It’s always that fear of what if it’s horrible or makes us look geeky. I cringe to check out any You Tube videos of us (although I am flattered that someone would go out of their way to do this). Whatever interview, article, good or bad, it seems to trigger my ego. My mother still doesn’t understand my concept seeing she is so proud of my accomplishments and wants to shout it out to the world. But all this being said, after getting over my fear, we did end up picking up the new cd and I love it! Sure there are parts I could go and pick on but overall it’s my top one up to date (I always say this when our new cd comes out). I can’t wait for all of you to hear it and I will try to take some of my mom’s advice and SHOUT IT OUT TO THE WORLD!

Yesterday we performed at a school in Mississauga, ON. I was so inspired by this elementary school. They had already fundraised over $5000 to build a clean water project with Free The Children. After our performance, a group of students came up to us and introduced themselves as the “no sweat” club. This group of students had come together to research the sweat shops throughout the world and were making a point of writing their favorite clothing stores to inquire about where the clothing was made and by who. They had a collection of letters written back to them from various stores including Aeropostale, Gap, Nike and American Eagle. It was so interesting to flip through these letters and notice the vagueness of response from the companies. Of course every letter ensured the “no sweat” group that there was healthy working conditions and everything was being made fairly. Even these grade six students had apprehensions about the letters and claimed that they felt the responses didn’t really answer their questions directly. Since performing across the country with Free The Children, I have become more aware of where clothing is made. It is so interesting to go into your favorite store and ask where the clothing was made and by who. So many times, nobody in the store has a clue where the clothes were made. If you look at the labels of various clothing items you will notice that many of them are made in developing countries. I personally am trying to determine how one can find out if the clothes was in fact made fairly and if the workers were not children. This is next to impossible to find out. Our culture has become so focussed on “stuff” and acquiring as much as we can for the least amount of money possible we have somewhat turned a blind eye to the process of manufacturing and ultimately the equality of human life on our planet. Recently, I watched an episode of Steve Colbert when Marc Kielburger (of Free The Children) was interviewed. Steve was trying to make a case for wanting his tube socks as cheap as possible and in fact the person being employed in the developing country was lucky to have an income making these socks. It appears to me that this type of mentality promotes the cycle of poverty. If we are all sharing this planet together, would it not make sense that everyone has an equal opportunity to live above the poverty line? You may call me a “communist” or a “hippie” or a “dreamer” however, this is not what I am alluding to. All I am simply questioning is why there is such a great divide between rich and poor on our planet and what can we do to make our planet a more equal place for all, so that children can get an equal education (instead of working tireless hours in sweat shops) and everyone has a enough food to eat….basic human rights?

I have to say, I am really proud of how our world has come together to helping Haiti. Everywhere I look, people are involved, fund raising, building awareness, spreading the word for all of these people who need our help. Small or big steps, people are making a difference. Just the other day, I went to my hot yoga class and for two hours we sweated to hip hot yoga raising a ton of money for Haiti while having so much fun in the process. All of these actions ripple into such positive results. Keith and I were off for two months with Free The Children over the holidays. It was really nice to be home for a while- back to reality, seeing old friends and family. I love family so much. It was good to be home. We started our tour this week, back in Toronto, with Free The Children for the entire month playing to about 35 schools in the area. Already, having performed at three schools this week, I am seeing all of these young people giving everything they got to help save Haiti. Raising $1500- $4000 in bake sales, car washes, school dances, talent nights etc. It seems like when times are down they get back up. I’ve been inspired 100 times over- leaving me with a big smile on my face. This is just the beginning though. We can’t forget all of those who need our help whether it be in our home town or in a country across the ocean. Thank you for those who are making a difference and spreading positive energy. You made my week!

I have been doing a lot of reflecting on the recent earth quake in Haiti and the casualties it has caused. I find it difficult to witness this from miles away through a tiny little television screen. The images and stories are overwhelming. To think that over 200,000 people have been killed from this disaster and several more are now starving and struggling to survive makes me feel so sad. At the same time, I am so inspired by how quickly the world has united to assist in the re-building efforts. I think this is the first time in my life time that I can truly recall seeing such a strong, collective consciousness to help each other out. Watching the Hope For Haiti Concert the other night on television brought tears to my eyes to think that so many people around the world were wanting to assist and do what they can to be of service to their fellow brothers and sisters.
Events like this are so bittersweet. On one hand we have lost so many incredible people to this disaster yet on the other hand, people from around the world have decided to open their hearts to re-build the country. Can you imagine what it would be like if this type of thinking was more common in our world? Wouldn’t it be a miracle if this was the start of a new way of thinking on our planet. A way of thinking that brings races together and works towards compassion instead of hatred. In the coming months, I know for myself that I want to continue spreading this compassion and love for my fellow human beings. Perhaps if we all continue to make an effort to extend love instead of hatred, compassion instead of resentment and open-ness instead of fear to even those in our own cities, we can be the change that we want to see in the world. Lets continue to collectively send out love and compassion to our friends in Haiti, who are struggling at this time. Lets also be mindful of those around us who are struggling from various conditions and send them love and offer our hand to them too. This is the direction we can all collectively move to attain a more peaceful planet.