Author: Glenn Hansen

Inflation is nonsense. Yes, of course, it is real, but, it is unnecessary. It happens because of the way our ridiculous economic system is set up. Our system is geared to make the most money possible for the top echelon of society, who created the system. How? Because, if you continually push up prices in a way that creates a lag between the price increases and what you pay people, you make more money. If you keep this cycle going, it is highly profitable.

That’s why banks, for example, speak out of both sides of the mouth when it comes to debt. Out of one side you hear reduce debt, while out of the other side they are constantly flogging credit cards, loans and mortgages. Proof? Just turn on the television to see this constant flogging. It really doesn’t make sense.

Remember, out economic system is not scientific, even though the purveyors would like you to think otherwise, it is based upon emotion. Nothing has value unless we give it value. Inflation is a calculated part of this emotional system.

In watching the college basketball March Madness Tournament currently taking place in the United States, I had a reoccurrence of a thought. For almost all of the players, this will be the pinnacle of their sporting life and maybe even life in general. Almost all will not move on to professional sports. I put myself in their shoes and thought about how I might be affected if I reached the pinnacle of my life at age 21 in terms of noteworthy, broad-based achievement.

Ultimately, I think this could be a great launching point for the rest of one’s life. You do, of course, get an education. You can parlay your sporting success into a chosen career. It might even open doors for other, bigger achievements. Anything is still possible.

Bruce Springsteen sang about “Glory Days.” We all, to some extent, think back to those good times with some degree of longing for their return. But, for a 21 year old college grad, this is not the end of the journey, it is the beginning of a wonderful new journey in life with exciting hopes and limitless possibilities. And that’s a good thing.    

I recently learned of a suggestion that Canada should try and join the European Union (EU) in light of their current relationship with the United States. I find this quite interesting and think it merits at least some consideration.

The US is on a new path, which is their prerogative, that has resulted in a major downturn in their relationship with Canada (and Mexico, as well). When you consider that this path will continue for almost at least 4 more years, and that the current administration does not negotiate in good faith and favours ever-changing disruptive economic behaviour, it isn’t a bad idea for Canada to think about a bigger relationship with the EU and possibly even membership in the EU.  Canada has a strong connection to Europe given its European roots and history, existing friendly relationship, current trade, and, of course, Canada’s profound assistance in World Wars I and II.

The choice for Canada is to try and wait out the current US administration, meaning a potential of 4 years of serious economic trauma for the country, or, take immediate action to try and mitigate this by aggressively pursuing options with other countries or groups of countries.

The only thing that doesn’t change is change. Nothing in life is guaranteed. Things can turn in different directions in a blink of an eye. That’s the way it is. For me, Canada seeking new initiatives elsewhere than the United States makes good sense.    

An annual poll conducted by Gallup, the University of Oxford and the United Nations revealed that 70% of the world’s people did at least one act of kindness in the past month. The poll was conducted with wellbeing data from over 140 countries.

While I realize this poll has limitations, in a world that’s reported on through a very negative lens, this is a splash of “Spring-like” good news. As terrible as the world appears to be, and sadly often is, this is encouraging for “real” people everywhere. It’s inspiring to see there is still much kindness in the world and therefore maintain hope for humanity.

Not everyone wants to rule the world; they just want to live their lives in peace with some happiness, a happiness derived in part from being kind. That’s not asking too much, is it?  

After reviewing today’s news, no happiness to report. Lots of madness, but no happiness. Tell me again why we can’t live in peace and harmony.

Every human that has ever been or will ever be is a spiritual being. Spiritualism is the innate desire to “believe” in something profound and be guided by it. “Wait a minute,” I hear someone shout. “This is not true. I don’t believe in God”, says that person with a bit of pride. “I’m not spiritual.” This is incorrect. Just by acknowledging that you don’t believe in God indicates you have an innate spiritual nature. You can reject it, and that’s your prerogative, but, everyone has to choose some sort of path. Bob Dylan even sang about it.

Whether we admit it or not, we are nowhere near as powerful as we sometimes think we are. Ask any dead leader: king, queen, dictator, president, prime minister, CEO etc. We sometimes think small so we don’t have to think about the big questions relating to life and the Universe. Many of us recognize through our inherent spiritualism the fact that everything is incomprehensibly so much bigger than we are. This gives us a perspective on what is important. And there are those who try to move away from it by thinking they are as powerful as they think they are. That they can control everything. They cannot.

Life, as I suggested before, is incomprehensible. However, even the most despicable do have an ending like the rest of us. This may not be of much solace to the far too many people victimized by the despicable, but, in the end, they will, as they say in movie westerns, “meet their maker” and receive their comeuppance, and it will last for eternity.

I am delighted that astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have finally come home safely after their unintended lengthy residency at the International Space Station. Their wonderful demeanor while in space displayed great resiliency, warmth and professionalism. I have tried to put myself in their shoes in the past and realized what a difficult path they were walking. Welcome home.