The CAMROSE BOOSTER, July 25, 2017 – Page 8
REFLECTIONS by Bonnie Hutchinson A cup of kindness
Last year at about this time, my home and office were moving to a new location (one that was being renovated), and a third location was being prepared for rental. Over several weeks, things were being moved into the new combined work/home location from three other locations, plus new furniture was also being delivered. Meanwhile, the renovation ran into snags and took six weeks longer than expected. Instead of moving into a clear empty space, the home and office were being moved into a construction zone. It was chaotic–complete disruption to both domestic and work life. Besides the chaos, I noticed something else: kindness. ***
Family and friends arrived to help in ways I expected and ways I could never have predicted. I am eternally grateful–and not surprised. That’s the kind of people they are. What I also began to notice was the kindness of strangers. As we began moving in boxes from the three other locations, workmen still finishing parts of the renovation arranged to have as much of their mess as possible out of the way, and made sure space was cleared for the boxes coming from other locations. Later, people delivering new furniture took outdoor footwear off at the door, made sure everything they delivered was properly set up, cleaned up the mess involved in unpacking, and even phoned later to check that all was in order. In the building to which I was moving, every time we arrived with another load, people we didn’t know would say, “Can I hold the door for you?” “Can I help you with that?” My family and friends noticed too. It seemed like we were surrounded by considerate people. In a stressful chaotic time, those acts of kindness made a challenging time easier – not just the logistics, but also the emotional and mental impact of all that chaos. ***
I thought of that as I read an article by Dr. Travis Bradberry, “Powerful Habits of Considerate People.” He said that our instinct to be considerate is even stronger than our instinct to be self-serving. Kindness and being considerate of others is an integral part of being human. Recent neuroscience explains why. According to Bradberry, research by Dacher Keltner at Berkely showed that our brains react the same way when we see other people in pain as when we experience pain ourselves. Seeing someone else experience pain activates the brain structure that’s responsible for nurturing behaviour. During my chaotic time of moving last year, I was keenly aware of how beneficial it was for me to be surrounded by kindness and consideration. What I hadn’t thought of was something pointed out in Bradberry’s article: being considerate is good for the person being considerate. Bradberry says, “When you show kindness and consideration for others, the brain’s reward center is triggered. That elevates the feel-good chemicals like dopamine, oxytocin and endogenous opioids. All of that gives you a great feeling, similar to what’s known as ‘runner’s high.’ All that oxytocin is good for your heart too.”
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I just wanted to send a note to thank all of the amazing volunteers it must have taken to put on the soccer provincials this past weekend! We travelled from Linden to spend the weekend in Camrose as our daughter was invited to play with the U18 Carstairs team. We also watched our local U14 Acme/Linden girls team play their heart out. Our experience in your community was wonderful. The hospitality was amazing. The fields looked great. We were very impressed and know how hard everyone must have worked. On a side note we also loved how beautiful your city is—we couldn’t get over all the lovely green spaces and how everyone’s yards were so neat and tidy! You all should be very proud of your community! Jamie Collins, Linden
Great entertainment
Forget about social media, The Camrose Booster is where it’s at when it comes
to debate on issues! I find myself eager to open up the Booster every week to see what’s going to be said in the editorial, how many get offended by it, and eagerly read the back and forth week by week to see how it unfolds. Unlike social media where discussions all to often go off the rails, these Booster editioral debates only go off the rails somewhat, and it’s very entertaining, sometimes funny, sometimes cringe-worthy. Keep it coming Camrose! Bobby Wells, Camrose Who is safe
The AHS July 11 article “Keep Kids safe on the farm” simply repeats a decade-old old PC message. Farm-related kids’ farm fatality statistics have proven the current approach to be ineffective. At least 12 children have died on Alberta farms since 2010; roughly 110 have died since 1985! Alberta Agriculture and the chief medical officer no longer even report childhood farm-related fatalities, so we have no accurate way of knowing how many children lose their lives on farms annually. If any other travesty annually took this many innocent childrens’ lives, Alberta Health would be doing much more than recycling age-old advice. It would declare a health crisis and immediate remediation would follow. Eight children died on Alberta farms in 2008
alone! A cost-free solution, one that would prevent these fatalities, has been available since 2009, when CASA posted effective /user-friendly Mic Safety Kids’ Farm Safety education Fact and Activity Sheets on their federal website www.casa-acsa.ca. Alberta Health, Education, and Agriculture ministers have, however, been disinterested in saving kids’ lives on Alberta farms. That makes this July AHS column disingenuous. Had “Farm safety education” been included within the existing Elementary Health and Wellness Program of Studies, alongside the existing fire, personal, street, bike/helmet safety instructions years ago, innumerable lives could have been saved. Kids learn all these other safety strategies, and learn to make safer decisions. This could likewise be true of “farm safety” education if Minister Eggen didn’t continue to ignore this problem and its solution. Alberta children continue to pay the ultimate price. Bill 6, the purported “Farm Safety” Bill, has done absolutely nothing to improve safety on Alberta farms. It merely provides compensation to the victims’ families after the fatality. Farm safety for kids on Alberta farms is still a desperate need...and could be achieved. M. R. Leithead, Bawlf
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Unkindness and rudeness and inconsideration are noisier and get more mass media attention than the millions of acts of kindness and consideration that happen every day. All that noise, all those images, can make us believe unkindness is normal and typical behaviour. It’s not. We are hard-wired to be kind to one another. It’s not just your mother or your spiritual leader saying, “Be kind to others,” because it’s the right thing to do. It’s neuroscience! As Bradberry concludes, “Being considerate is good for your mental and physical health, your career, and everyone around you. On top of that, it just feels good.” I love it when hard science catches up to what human nature has known all along–being kind is good for us. Regardless of how it may appear on mass media, kindness comes naturally to most of us, most of the times. Reassuring! ***
I’d love to hear from you. If you have comments about this column or suggestions for future topics, send an e-mail to Bonnie@BonnieHutchinson.com and I’ll happily reply within one business day.
SILVER MEDALS
Submitted The Camrose Vikings U14 boys soccer team earned silver medals and the Fair Play Award at provincials held in Camrose on July 7 to 9. Back row from left, coach Alan Irving, Kole Woosley, Theo Yammit, Karson Lindstrand, Owen Tomaszewski, Henok Sexton, Aidan Peake, Jeremiah Mascaluk, Ian Tomaszewski, coach Dan Cooney and head coach Lowell Befus. Front row from left, Lisel Mascaluk, Javaun Wittingham, Wyatt Falk, Anders Bouck, Kelton Cooney, Cam Irving, Wyatt Chartrand, Sam Schiele, Ty Befus and Jan Falk. Missing is manager Asa Bouck and player Wesley Joyce. Camrose won 3-2 with Tomaszewski, Sexton and Bouck scoring. They beat Manning 8-0 with Sexton scoring four, Tomaszewski netting three and Javaun Whittingham scoring. In the semifinal, Camrose blanked Olds 4-0 with Sexton scoring three and Tomaszewski adding a single marker. Camrose lost 4-1 to Vermilion in the final with Sexton scoring his ninth of the weekend.
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