Valerie’s Voice in La Ronge

We are closely approaching a new year as I write this column. It’s something I have some misgivings about, along with the usual celebration of new possibilities and experiences.

My misgivings are the slowness of time it seems to be taking to make changes to bring about a healthier environment and society for those who have been hurt in some way, racism, poverty, loss of loved ones, and the list goes on.

We still have too many challenges with a government that doesn’t seem aware or care about our people living in the north.

These challenges run all the way from the destructive clearcutting of our beautiful and healthy forests, wildfires that are managed instead of controlled, and, my pet peeve, the tailgating and other concerns about scary driving practices on our streets and highways.

The driving will, I’m sure be part of future columns, but it’s worth a mention.

As I look forward, I wonder how long it will take to make changes to bring about a more healthy and … society.

One that reflects respect and compassion for each other, our environment, health – every aspect of our lives.

I’ve had some interesting conversations with some young adult people in recent months and it has me thinking.

When I was in Grade 7, at the beginning of the school year, each student met with our school Guidance Counsellor, to look at our future plans.

I had my turn just like the others and I had no idea what I might like to do with my life beyond high school.

So, when I was asked, that’s how I responded. I said I didn’t really have any idea.

I was told that I needed to make up my mind so I could make sure to take the right classes in preparation for getting into, what we now call Post-secondary classes/school.

I remember this clearly because it did cause me some concern, but it was vague. And, I remember saying, I just knew it had to be something that was not 9 to 5 and not all indoors.

“Well, there’s nothing like that,” was this man’s response.

Then I was a little anxious about it. I didn’t know what I could do.

But, life unfolded. I took business courses and was never good at it. I married and had children and stayed home for much of their growing up years.

But, when I got to a career outside the home, I look back and see, my careers included those premises. None were 9-5, not-all-indoor jobs. They were anything but, including journalism.

What I am hearing in chats with younger people, looking toward their futures, is they many of them want to get away from the 9-5 workplace, the congestion of cities and towns, the focus and around on money, and they want to live with PEACE.

In other words, it sounds like they want to live a healthier lifestyle, with a closer relationship with the natural world.

When I was 14 or 15, I was getting ready to go to the Remembrance Day services at the National War Memorial, when I noticed my father wasn’t ready to go.

During that time there was no holiday for Remembrance Day, so, if it was on a school day, we were taken in school buses.

This particular year, it was a Sunday and my friend and I were going.

It took me a long time to really understand my father’s response to me, when I noted he wasn’t ready, but his response is one I have thought about many times over the years.

He said, “No, the war’s over. It’s time to build something new.” And that’s what he did for the remaining years of his life.

We have not done that very well. We tend to hang on to older ways of living, although, here have been some changes.

We need much more care in our world for each other, for our environment and human life.

We have so much anger and hate in our world it seems.

We are losing so many young people to addictions.

Those are the things we need to support with our care, compassion and resources to make a healthier and happier world for the young ones coming after us.

That’s where I want to see care, time, energy resources, and maybe most of all, compassion and love for each other and the world around us, to make it possible for these young people and others around the world to fulfill their hopes and dreams in their lifetime and for future generations and transform this beautiful earth home we have into something sustainable.

It’s my hope and prayer as we enter a new year with that intension to “build something new.”

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