September 30th marked the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada.
The day honours the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families and communities.
As a business we decided to close our doors that day to give our team a chance to participate in activities that would help them commemorate the tragic and painful history of residential schools, and continue their own journey in the reconciliation process.
My three daughters all had no school that day, so we were able to take in some of the events at Wanuskewin Heritage Park in Saskatoon. Keri was participating in professional development at Centennial High School, with an emphasis on the theme of truth and reconciliation.
Owen Pelletier was one of the keynote speakers, and his story of life in the child welfare system as an indigenous foster child was heartbreaking and eye-opening for my daughters and me.
Mr. Pelletier acknowledged that there are no easy solutions to the intergenerational trauma that the residential schools, and their fallout, caused to our indigenous communities. But he pointed out that we can all play a part in the healing process, whether by getting involved directly, or even simply by showing compassion to those we meet who may have been hurt directly or indirectly by the residential school system.
The key is being open-minded to the potential solutions, and being willing to think “outside the box.”
An example of open-mindedness came from a Brazilian engineer in the early 2000’s.
Brazil, like many second- and third-world countries, suffers from an inconsistent power grid, which means that power blackouts are common.
Fixing this would entail building homes with windows and getting electricity to remote areas. The problems with such ideas are endless, from heavy costs to lack of proper infrastructure needed for electricity.
Rather than looking at the problem from the traditional standpoint, Alfredo Moser figured out a way to provide cheap and sustainable lighting via what he called the Moser Lamp. All that was needed was a 2-liter plastic bottle, water, and bleach.
The bottle is filled with water (and bleach to prevent algae growth) and fitted into a hole in the roof of a home. The sun shines on the part of the bottle that is outside and refracts the light to the inside of the home—and each bottle acts like a 60-watt bulb.
A different level of thinking. Thinking outside the “traditional box.”
Einstein said, “The same level of thinking that got you into the problem is never the same level of thinking to get you out.”
Are your money, lifestyle, retirement and legacy stuck in the “traditional box?”
The road to an abundant retirement lifestyle often starts with a mindset shift: openness to new ideas.
You may wonder if there is anything else you can do to increase your income, reduce your taxes, or bring greater security to your situation.
If so, give us a call.
“Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant.”
– P.T. Barnum
