Since COVID-19, much of what we have come to enjoy and take for granted has been cancelled. In-class learning, visits with friends and family, group celebrations, faith-based services, some restaurants, bars, lounges, some gyms, theatres, and sporting events.

Our lives have changed fundamentally with these ‘new normals,’ and it can be easy for us to focus on what has been taken away.

A friend and colleague recently shared this poignant reminder of what hasn’t been cancelled.

Not Everything is Cancelled

Sunshine isn’t cancelled

Summer isn’t cancelled

Love isn’t cancelled

Relationships aren’t cancelled

Reading isn’t cancelled

Naps aren’t cancelled

Devotion isn’t cancelled

Music isn’t cancelled

Dancing isn’t cancelled

Imagination isn’t cancelled

Kindness isn’t cancelled

Conversation isn’t cancelled

HOPE isn’t cancelled

and a remark to add …

FRIENDS Aren’t Cancelled

Keep Looking Up

Fear does not stop death, it stops Life and Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles. It takes away today’s peace.

Just Think About It…..how privileged are we that during a global pandemic,

we can just stay at home comfortably reading, working, watching TV, listening to music

AND with a fridge stocked full of food

Do remind yourself to be grateful today

Might not be tonight, tomorrow or the next day…..

BUT everything is going to be okay

To make a difference in someone’s life you don’t have to be Brilliant, Rich, Beautiful or Perfect…….

You just have to CARE.

Source: Unknown

A change of perspective can change everything. As this email suggests, we can fix our attention on what is missing and what is wrong in the world – or we can just as easily fix our attention on what we have and what is right in the world.

I would guess that many reading this newsletter do in fact have a fridge stocked full of food as stated in the email submission. We also know that there are those in our communities where their fridge is not stocked full of food.

The Good news is that food banks and other charities have not been cancelled.

The Bad news is that they need your help now more than ever.

Not sure how to donate and give? Here are a couple of resources to help direct your gratitude and generosity:

Food Banks Canada – Covid-19: https://foodbankscanada.ca/covid-snapshot/  or phone 1-877-535-0958

Canada Helps – Donate to Food Banks Charities Where You Live: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/donate-to-covid-19-food-banks/

Yes, many places are in fact still closed – but our hearts can remain open. Like sunshine, naps, and imagination, Love, Caring, and Giving have not been cancelled!

Rhonda Latreille, MBA, CPCA

Founder & CEO

Age-Friendly Business

Giving is Good for YOU

Mitchell Popovetsky, MD, Rush University Medical Center cites studies that show ‘helpers high’ that comes from giving to others lights up the pleasure centres of the brain that also respond to food, sex and drugs…(who knew?!)

Giving can also lead to greater self-esteem and satisfaction with life, lower risk of depression, better physical health, and a longer life.

All in balance, he cautions. When caregiving is provided at the expense of your own self-care, the benefits are reversed.

Giving Back

“At the end it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.”

Denzel Washington