POSITIVE THINKING: #1

The first installment in the POSITIVE THINKING series comes from RK, a 54-year-old financial planner and lifelong resident of Alberta. Although he likes many aspects of our province, he chose to focus specifically on themes of community and opportunity. We were also very happy to see that RK, albeit briefly, mentioned our climate as a positive feature.

Let RK know what you think of his first-ever blog post in the comments section. 

I was asked to comment on something I liked about Alberta. While there were a number of things to choose from including the diversity of geography (from mountains to prairie and everything in between), the climate, opportunity, etc, I decided on something I can best describe as community spirit.  While many of my experiences are from the Edmonton area, I think they apply to the province as a whole. I see it in the sporting world -- filling up Commonwealth Stadium to watch a hockey game when it's -20 C, hosting world-class events that are always well-managed and well-attended, and setting the gold standard of national-anthem-singing when the Oilers made their big playoff run. Standing in that crowd I could feel how proud those people were to be Canadians and Albertans. It seems to me those types of things aren't regular occurrences anywhere else in Canada.

I've gotten involved with some fundraising and I also see this spirit in people's willingness to give. It's demonstrated by Alberta always being at or near the top in the country when it comes to charitable donations and, more importantly, volunteerism. It seems there is never a fundraising goal that isn't met, and I think this is reflected by the numerous top-end facilities in our area: the Alberta Heart Centre, The Stollery Children's Hospital and The Winspear, to name a few. The authors of this blog would probably say that if the government provided proper funding there wouldn't be a need to raise more money but I tend to disagree with that. There will always be a need for more than the government can supply and so there should be.

One last thought on the idea of opportunity: I recently had a 40-year-old fellow stop by my office. He and his family had moved here 18 months ago from Sri Lanka. He had two children, one 5 and the other 11 months. He and his wife work as cooks at BP and are making about $3500 a month. I was amazed when he told me that in the short time they've been here they had put together enough for a down payment on a house. He also told me how great it was (other than the cold weather) for him and his family to be here. I wouldn't go so far to say that Alberta is a "beacon of hope" but for these people it gave them an opportunity to change their lives.

The bottom line is that every country in the world can do better and we need to push for changes. But sometimes we just need to have an appreciation of what we've got.

Comments

[MR]

I think it's funny that the authors of this blog are so cynical they have to rely on other people to write positive things about our province (although, I don't blame them sometimes). Good post RK!I agree that Albertans are among the most passionate sports fans in the world (sometimes a little too passionate...a la running hockey players out of town)and, having done my fair share of fundraising, I agree that it is curiously easy to meet any goals that are set(and it should considering the current boom). Looking forward to the rest of this series.

[ch]

This is a great post and it definitely provides a perspective on Alberta that I would not otherwise encounter. You've made me think. Thanks for contributing RK!

[LV]

I find it is in -20 C that Albertans really show their best side. I can't count how many times perfect strangers have pushed me out of a ditch, shoveled my sidewalk, or stopped to randomly chat about the weather as we pass each other in my neighbourhood.

Community spirit, indeed :) Great post.

[Bob McInnis]

Great post. I agree that Albertans (my experience is with Calgarians) are amazingly generous. They have stepped up to support worthy causes in social services, the arts, sports and recreation, and heritage when asked. Whether th cause or issue is local or global there is a significant percentage of the population that will respond. Many of those who don't aren't hard hearted or mean-spirited. They have just fallen victim to the allure of 'big government'. " I pay taxes so it is the government's responsibility" is the refrain. Expansion of the state and redistribution of wealth through taxation is inefficient, ineffective and causes the dissolution of community. Keep being positive, keep caring, and keep taking action RK. We need more people like you.

[DJ Kelly]

This post is a great start to the series. Bloggers do love to bitch about things (bad news always gets the lead) and often it is refreshing to remind ourselves of the positives our home offers. Generosity is but one of the virtues regular experienced in Alberta. (And now we even have a government ministry designed to help create a little more culture and community spirit. Or at least help along what obviously already exists.)