ByDaveScott ByDaveScott
Let'stalkaboutfear.
Irememberbeinginareal-lifefear situationasafive-year-old.Itwasscary, life-threateningandoverwhelming.It likelyplaysapartinmylifetothisday.I'm alwaysverycautiousandawarewhenIdo things,thepeopleI'maround,andhow scenarioscouldgodown.Ihavealways beenmoreapprehensiveaboutsituations thanmostpeople,evenfromayoung age,andI'mokaywiththat.
Fearcanstickwithusinoneformor another,whichcanbegoodorbad.Itcan teachyouaboutyourselfandhowto cope,orinothercases,itmightcreate anxiety,tellingyourbrainthere'sa dangerwhenthereisnone.Youmay avoidcircumstancesbecauseafearthat wasformedalongtimeagohasaresidual effectandkeepshauntingyoutothisday. TheotherpartIwanttoexamineishow fearworkstodayinthemediaandsociety. Manypoliticalorcommercialadsarefeardriventomotivateyoutolisten,believe, andbuysomething.Wemaynotwishto fear,butwewanttoseewhat'sgoingon soweareawareandprepared.Thereisa
backwardnesstotheprocessbecausefear thendrivesusandcreatessituationswhere we'realmostparanoidaboutdoing anything.Ithandcuffsusasasocietyallthe wayaround.
Towhatdegreecanwefightthis,and how dowecombatit?Wecanreducetheamount oftimewespendonsocialmedia.Whenwe areonit,wemustlookatthevalueofour reading,checkthesource,seewhereit's comingfrom,andunderstandifit's legitimate.Weneedtodothesethingstoday toensurewegetthecorrectinformation.It boilsdowntoyourchoices.Sobeyourown bestdefence.Dotheresearchandfindthe answers.
Ifsomethingfearfulinyourlifeiscausing anxietyormakingyounervousaboutcertain situations,talktosomebody.Findahealthor mentalhealthexpertwhocanhelpsupport andguideyou.
I'm60yearsold,andI'veseendifferent thingscomeandgothroughoutmylife.I alwayssay,"Okay,we'regonnagetthrough this."Sometimes,it'shard;that'sthereality. Lifeisnevereasy,butyoufindyourwayand
keeptryingtogrowasaperson, family,society,andcommunity. Let'sputthephoneaway,turnthe computeroff,andgoforawalkinthe woodsordosomethingelsetoshift ourfocus.Thiswillrekindleour imagination,giveusperspectiveon life,andputfearbackwhereit belongs.
Wemightnotwanttohavethese discussions,butweneedtoaddress theseissuesandhaveconversations tohelpeachothermoveforward. That'simportant.We'reletting strangersdictateourfearandtellus what'srightandwrongandwhowe needtobe.Let'sshiftbacktobasics, connectwithourneighbours,andget backtoatimewhenweallkneweach otherandhadasay.
Thisisjustmyopinion.Dowhatyou thinkbest,butIaskyoutotakethe timetolookatwhereyou'regoingin yourlife,considerwhatissteering yourthinking,andconsidermakinga littleshift.
Openyourmindtodifferentideasandconcepts. Talktosomebodywhoholdsdifferentviews. That'sallIhavetoday,mylittle HubMedia rant. Iwantedtogetthatouttheresoweunderstand what'shappeningandcanstartworking together.Takecare,andhaveagreatday!
InthisepisodeoftheBoomerMusic Experience,hostsRandyHelmoandDave Scottdelveintotheprofoundimpactofradio ontheirlivesandthecommunity.They exploretheoriginsoflocalradioinSimcoe, theemotionalweightofbroadcasting significantnewsevents,andtheevolutionof radiopersonalities. Randyshareshisjourneyfromearlyradio experiencestohiscurrentrolein broadcasting,emphasizingtheimportance ofpreparationandconnectionwiththe audience.Theconversationalsotoucheson thefutureofradiointheageofstreaming andthelastinglegacyofradioinshaping cultureandpersonalconnections.
~LouisSabin
By:DaveScott
HowmuchstockshouldIputintowhatmy kidsheardorsawgrowingup?Therewas alwaysfoodonthetable,andwhenwecould affordtodothings,wedid,butfinancially, therewerealwayschallenges.Asbusiness owners,youjustneverknewwhatthenext bigproblemwouldbearoundthecorner.
Thecollegefundhadtobedone,alongwith thenever-endingmortgagepayment.The risingcostofutilitiesseemedtorotate constantlyfromoneservicetothenext. Don'tgetmestartedoninsurancerates.Car, home,andhealthinsuranceweremoneypits thatrarelycametotherescue.Wehaveall hadtheseconversationswithourpartnersas welookedforthatsweetspotofsecurityand consistency.
Nowthinkaboutit,atonepointoranother, ourkidsprobablyheardtheconversations, sawthetirednessinoureyes,theworryon ourfaces,orfeltthewearinessinour goodbyewavesasweheadedofftoworkfor anotherdayoftryingtomakeagoofit.
Wedoourbesttokeepthefamilymovingin therightdirection,butatwhatcost?Health concernslikeheartproblems,sorekneesand backachesgrowasweage.Othersmightdeal withcancerordiabetes...Ourkidswatchus growold,perhapsbeforeourtime.
Nowadays,somefolksconsiderkidslazy.But thenagain,somefolks consideredmygeneration lazy!
Today,Iseeafuture generationthatgrewup watchinghowharditwasfor
theirparents.Youngadultswhorecognize alltheaboveasacrazywaytolive.Theysaw usasworking,notliving.
Theyhavedecideditisnotforthemand choosetolivefirstandworksecond.Theysee thestrugglesasnotworththeeffort.What wesawashillstoclimbtosurvive,theyseeas mountains.
Icannotblamethem.Today'sworldcanbe coldanddark.Theylookatajobinshortlife segments,ayearortwo,andiftheydon'tlike it,theyleavesooner.Iwouldn'thavebeen abletodothatwhenIwasyoung,asjobs werealittlemoredifficulttocomebythen.
Kidstodayseethingslikeinsuranceand banksasscamsandarelookingfordifferent solutionsfortheireconomicgrowthand livelihood.Likeyouandme,theoldwaysare fading.Likeitornot,thisiswheretheworld isheading.Wehavehadourshot.
Fromayoungage,wetoldourkidsthey couldbeanything.Theyshouldhave adventures,behappyatwhattheydo,stand uptothebullies,andstaythecourse.They shouldbelieveinthemselves,helpothers,be strong,andfollowtheirhearts.Theyshould acceptfolksforwhotheyareandtreat everyoneasequals.
Itseemstheylistenedtous.Theyaredoing whatwetoldthem!Weshouldbeproudand supportive,notannoyed.Ourkidsrealize theydonotneedourlifestyletobehappy. Theyarefearless.Asweage,wecanlearn somethingfromourkids.
Remember,theywerewatchingus!
"Worryneverrobstomorrowofitssorrow.Itonlysapstodayofitsjoy."~LeoBuscaglio "Eventhedarkestnightwillendandthesunwillrise."~VictorHugo
Wearelivingthroughturbulentandtroubled politicaltimes.Eachdayseemstobringmore chaos.Idon'twantittoconsumeme.Iwill simplytrytobemybest.Ikeepupwiththedaily newsinordertobeinformedabouttheworld andasamatterofinterest,butIdon'twishto getinvolvedinoverlypartisandiscussions.The personwithanopposingpointofviewlikely believestheyarerightequallyasmuchasIdo. Ourworldhassomeofthesamekindsofpeople ithasalwayshad:bullies,crooks,overconfident idiots.Wegetourrevengebynotbeinglikeour enemies.Wecanliveourliveswellandenjoythe beautyaroundus.
So,whatstrategiesmighthelpapersonbe positiveaboutlifeinthesetimesofsuchpolitical turmoil?Wearefortunatethatweliveina democracywherewehavethefreedomtovote forcandidatesofourchoice.Itisour responsibilitytobecomeinformedandtovote. Atthesametime,wehaveourownlivestolive. Forme,thatcentresaroundfriendsandfamily. Theyaremostworthyofmyrespectand thoughts,soIkeepanyfrustrationwiththe widerworldofftooneside.
Ihadbeenplanninganddreamingoftakingpart thissummerintheLastAnnualVolStateRoad Race,aniconic314mileadventureacrossthe stateofTennessee.However,duetorecent revisionkneereplacementsurgery,Ihavehadto withdraw.Maybeitwillhappenanotheryear. ThiswasabitofaletdownandIdidn'thavea substituteforituntilashortwhileago.Now, thereisanewgoal.Iamgoingtotakepartinthe forthcomingHikeforHospice.
TheHikeforHospiceisa5kthatwilltakeplace atSilverLakeParkinPortDoveronJune1.The organizersaimtoraise$40,000fortheNorfolk HaldimandCommunityHospice'scurrent programs,whichprovidehospicepalliativecare education,compassionatecaregiverandfamily support,bereavementservices,spiritualcare andgriefprogramsforchildrenandadults.The focusofthisfundraisingeffortistoenablethe continuationofthesesupportprogramsandto raiseawarenesswhileworkingtowardsthe ultimategoal,theestablishmentofaCentrefor HospicePalliativeCareinHaldimandNorfolk. Eachofuscandoalittle;together,wecandoa lot.AsparticipantsintheHike,myfriendSandy andI(teamname:CharlieandOneAngel)are
hopingtowalkamarathon.Sandysurprisingly agreedthatitmightbealrightformetotryto gothatfarjustthreemonthsaftermyoperation. Andshe,too,isrecoveringfromaseriousknee operation.Butwebelievesostronglyinthe worthinessofthecausethatwewanttoatleast try.Eventorganizershavegivenuspermission tostartearlyandfinishlate.Wepromisetotry ourhardestwhilenotendangeringourknees. Afewweeksafterbeginningmyrehab,Ihad anothersetback.Progressincreasingmyknee flexioncametoahaltasaresultofasevere years-longbuild-upofscartissueinthe surroundingarea.Mysurgeonsuggested anotherprocedure,manipulationunder anaesthetic,andIreturnedtoBrantfordGeneral HospitalinApril.Hemanuallybentmynewknee backandforthwhileIwasunderageneral anaesthetic.Onceagain,Iammakingprogress andhavesixweekstoprepareforthe fundraisingwalk.Ofcourse,Iwouldstillliketo beabletocompleteamarathon(42k),butIwill settleforwhateverdistancemybodyreasonably allowsmetodothatday.Dailywalksof increasingdistancesareabouttobegin.I've beenthroughthisregimenmanytimesbefore.
Anactualhospicesomedayinourareawillbea beaconofhopeandsupportforend-of-lifecare. Itwillprovidedignity,makingthefinaldays easierforthosedyingandfortheirfamiliesand caregivers.BothSandyandIhavebeenthrough thepainoflosingclosefamilymembers,sowe knowonlytoowelltheharshrealitiesandthe overwhelminggrief.
Anydonationswouldbeappreciated.Wewould alsowelcomeanyreaderswhomightwishto comeoutandsharealaportwowithusduring ourlongday(Sunday,June1)aswemove forward,onestepatatime.Themorepeoplewe gettoparticipateandsupportthevision,the soonerthedreamofalocalhospicewillbecome amuch-neededreality.
Todonate:Google–NorfolkHaldimand CommunityHospiceHikeRegistration.
