Rich....

Our writing word for today is "rich." I've never felt the need to be rich in the sense of monetary wealth. My idea of a rich life is having many varied experiences, embellishing and adorning what I have and finding a motherlode of wealth in the freedoms many have fought so hard to protect.

We are very fortunate in Canada. We still have a working democracy. We have freedom of speech, free (for the most part) healthcare, free use of a good deal of public lands, free education to a point, the list goes on. I notice that I have had to qualify some of the "freedoms" on my list. The wolf is always somewhere waiting to take away what he can, as soon as he can.

We have seen public lands go to developers. Public education decline, healthcare compromised and journalists silenced. The middle class is disappearing, rapidly, soon there will be just the very rich and the very poor.

Maybe our enrichment should be to ask ourselves - what we can do to keep and expand the "freedoms" we still have. Certainly we should read more, particularly responsible newspapers, that keep us up to date and put events into perspective - now + then = the future.

We should also write. Write to our government representatives, send letters to the editor, keep a personal weblog. We need to voice our "educated" opinions and the opinions of experts in their fields. I share a lot of posts on Facebook. These posts are from people who are part of a dedicated resistance to current conservative governments' people and policies.

Yes, I believe in levelling the playing field. I believe in taxing the rich and spreading those dollars around to enrich the general public. Let us all be able to have many rich and varied experiences. Let us all be able to embellish and adorn what we have and let us all enjoy the freedoms, we still have.

The pictures? Some things that make my life rich!!

Have a "free" day