We are so lucky to live in Canada. We are
even luckier to live in Northern Ontario. Our air and water are
clean, our lakes and forests are abundant, our children are
well fed and educated. We live in a peaceful society -
something that is rare in the world today.
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VIKI MATHER |
Each of these gifts that make our lives so
comfortable goes largely unnoticed in our everyday lives. This
day of Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to remember how
lucky we are. All the things listed here are very tenuous, and
could easily be lost - if we forget to take notice.
We are indeed fortunate to have such a high
quality of life. Many would say this quality of life is
dependent on our high standard of living. I would say it is the
other way around. After all, what is more important? Quality of
life or standard of living?
A friend sent me one of those stories that
fly across the Internet. It clearly demonstrates my
thoughts:
One day the father of a very wealthy family
took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of
showing him how poor people lived.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the
farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father
asked his son, "How was the trip?"
"It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people live?" asked the
father.
The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog
and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle
of our garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have
imported lanterns in our garden; they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard, they have the whole
horizon.
"We have a small piece of land to live on;
they have fields that go beyond their sight. We have servants
to serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they
grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us;
they have friends to protect them."
The father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing
me how poor we are!"
So which is more important, quality of life
or standard of living? The challenge we have in our rich
Canadian society is to make sure our standard of living does
not compromise our quality of life.
Give thanks this weekend for our clean water
and air, our abundant lakes and forests, our children and our
friends. May they all stay healthy and
strong!
Viki Mather lives by a lake near Sudbury
