NORTHERN RIVER Financial
Suite 300 - 22 King Street South N2J 1N8 Waterloo, ON, Canada

#NorthernRiverReflection #Laughter In the words of John Cleese: Laughter connects you with people. It’s almost impossible to maintain any kind of distance or any sense of social hierarchy when you’re just howling with laughter. Laughter is a force for democracy.... The last four years has seen a world of perpetual anger, hatred, and diviseness fuelled by a certain man. The electorate decided his time was done and the elected someone who is tasked to repair the damage that has been caused. When I see this man, I see a light in his heart and a smile on his face. Even more so, a contagious laughter. It is refreshing. It offers relief and hope again. Cleese said laughter is a force for democracy. It connects you with people and that is what is needed down south right now. A social resurgence, closing the distance, and removing the hierarchy. I do my part and use social media to hopefully infuse some laughter into people’s daily lives. Whether it is whimsical, sarcastic, satire or silly, I find it does its job. We are stressed within our current lives in the throes of changes imposed by the pandemic. None of them we asked for. The social isolation and inability to live life normally has caused many to lose faith. It's easy to dwell in the negative. We need to seek out ways to enjoy our lives. Laughter is a great coping mechanism. I am known to be a sarcastic by nature and even silly to some. So be it. When I reflect on my nature, I know that I do it to bring a smile to someone’s face and even a laugh. Some tell me to be more serious. But, you know what, I say to them that if you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at. My job is done if I can bring some levity and laughter to their day. I’ll take that force for democracy and promote it wherever I can. Especially today. That is one way I am #KeepingLifeCurrent.

#NorthernRiverReflection #Pursuit In the words of Dr. Prem Jagyasi: Visualizing the future is never just a figment of imagination; instead, it’s the pursuit of something real and tangible that will keep you focused at all times.... It was hard to capture what I was thinking of for this Reflection. I really didn’t know the appropriate word to use. I initially considered the word pursuit but rejected it as being to direct and forceful. I suppose Jagyasi hit on it. Visualizing the future is hard for most. Sometimes our dreams and goals are bigger than our ambition and drive. It is never just a figment of our imagination. Not everybody is built the same way. Some will argue that those who are greatly successful have the right chemistry to become so. The one thing that we can do is realize we are all capable of achieving success, however we envision it, but making sure it is real and tangible. Making the size of our goals and objectives manageable makes our ability to pursue and achieve them very possible. This is what I was reflecting on the other day when I was thinking about pursuit. As a wildlife phtographer, I had been looking for an owl over the last few days without success. My pursuit was achievable. After failing several times, I decided to revisit my strategy. I re-focused my pursuit, narrowed it, and became more focused. This led to my success in locating the owl late yesterday and I was rewarded with some meaningful time with him capturing great images of him in the wild. So, I reconsidered the word pursuit again and realized it was the right word. It was just the concept of pursuing the point of winning the battles to win the war. Breaking our pursuits down into smaller segments or steps, to achieve them, is winning the battles. It allows us to concentrate on our objective and gives us a clear direction. This approach will keep us focused at all times #KeepingLifeCurrent.

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#NorthernRiverReflection #Grace In the words of Charles Spurgeon: Grace puts its hand on the boasting mouth, and shuts it once for all.... Yesterday saw a culmination in the land down south that produced a long sought after change. Well, at least hopefully. The last few years have seen divisiveness, hate, confusion, indoctrination and falsehoods. A sad state for a once proud country. Now a new page has been turned but some people refuse to read the new chapter and have even slammed the book shut. What is missing? Grace. But what is grace? It is a disposition to, or an act, or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency. Normally it is a charming or attractive trait or characteristic. There was a time when people treated each other with respect and grace. I am hoping that this historical change mY allow grace to return. Spurgeon said it. Grace puts its hand on the boasting mouth. We all know who I am referring to. Grace will shut it once and for all. That is my hope. I recently saw a picture of two southern citizens, with opposing political beliefs, graciously shake hands after the results were declared. It was a hard, and fair, fight. They respected each other enough to know that the decision was made by the populous despite all the smoke and mirrors being deployed. When I reflect on similar situations in the past, for the most part, the incumbent has been treated with grace and dignity. It is my hope that this will too end with an act of grace. We all need to act with grace in all that we do and extend it to all that we engage with. Its not a question of right or wrong, he said or she said. We are all entitled to our opinions and beliefs. That is the cornerstone of democracy. Grace is a fundamental element in #KeepingLifeCurrent.

#NorthernRiverReflection #Time In the words of Shikoba: May your time in nature lead you to yourself...... We woke up and bundled up for the first real cold morning of the Fall. Out we went to our favourite wild area and one of my best kept secret trails. It is extremely beautiful and took on an whole new meaning with the autumn frost and ice forming on the waterways. We were in no hurry. My partner was in a world of her own shooting the scenery. I was out to catch the wildlife and am never disappointed. While waiting, and soaking in all that is nature, my mind got to wandering again. We deliberately were taking our time. Shikoba sums it up succinctly. Time in nature can lead you to yourself. Being outside and clearing our mind of our time consumptive life. I do my best contemplating and soul searching when I am out in nature. I am fortunate to have a life partner who shares the same vision. The quietness in nature allows me to reflect on matters. I realize that many of the important moments in my life were conceived while out in solitude. Even when I am home and back in the urban environment, I have contemplative music playing in the background as I do while writing this piece. Soft and moodful music interspaced with the sounds of nature. Its my mindset. We all owe it to ourselves, our health, and our well-being to find time to have such solitude. We need to remove ourselves from the societal noise. It allows us the ability to clear our minds and refresh our soles. It doesn’t matter where it is. Time is well-spent where ever our hearts are. Our back yards, the city park, amongst the trees, or on the beach. We have it all around us if we seek it out. Time is fleeting and we need to use it while we have it. Think of how we are always looking at see where time has gone. Its history. We need to change our direction to our time ahead. Being forward focused is #KeepingLifeCurrent.

#NorthernRiverReflection #Encounters In the words of C.G. Jung: Synchronistic events provide an immediate religious experience as a direct encounter with the compensatory patterning of events in nature as a whole, both inwardly and outwardly.... Well that quote is a mouthful. But, at its heart is simplicity. We live in a universe of random interaction, where things often happen for no apparent reason. Causes and effects are governed not by a controlling will but by countless little operations of natural laws. And sometimes things happen which we feel must be meaningful: things come together in such a way that we feel we must have been the recipient of some kind of grace. Jung gave such phenomena the name of synchronicity. The operative word in both cases is encounters. They either happen by fluke or as part of a synchronistic coming together. Sometimes we see a pattern. Sometimes we do not see them coming. I reflect on those random encounters in nature that are not anticipated. I often see this as being in the right place at the right time. Those repeated encounters that just come together to a particular event are sometimes not clear until they happen. Our will to want something to happen leads to us seeking out those encounters which, when rationalized and planned, can lead to a purposeful outcome. Either type of encounter has its own particular value and we must seek them out. Those random encounters for me are often a result of making myself available in areas where they can happen. Alternatively, we all live, or should live our lives, in a synchronized way. This can be a natural outcome dependent on the way we think or act. Often, it is a result of looking for or finding those encounters that lead to a meaningful outcome. Encounters are a fact of life and we need to be conscious of their value in #KeepingLifeCurrent.

#NorthernRiverReflection #Mood In the words of Frederick Soddy: Nature is in austere mood, even terrifying, withal majestically beautiful.... Its funny what comes up in a conversation. I came across a person’s comment that they loved the mood of a painting. A compliment. In looking at the sky in that particular painting, one can see its mood in texture, colour and interpretation. When asked about the comment, the painter loved it. Its what he wanted to come across in interpretation. As a painter and photographer, I seek that out. Mood is a state or quality of feeling at a particular time, a prevailing emotional tone or general attitude, a frame of mind disposed or receptive, as to some activity or thing. Soddy simply stated that nature is in austere mood. Its terrifying withal majestically beautiful. Its important for all of us to understand mood. Its is not just interpreted in the negative, as being moody or being in a bad mood. Moods can have a positive valence. A mood is an affective state. In contrast to feelings or emotions, they are less specific, less intense and less likely to be provoked or instantiated by a particular event. It is important for people to interpret our moods in the way that we want them to be seen. It sets context and social parameters sure, but it's an important human characteristic. We all have moods. When I reflect on my own personality, I would say I can be a moody person but mostly in the positive. In this need for me to rationalize my moods, I express them artistically. The picture included in this post is an example. We all need to have a way to positively express our moods. We all have them and want to exhibit them in a positive way. It is a strong characteristic of #KeepingLifeCurrent.

What does a financial planner do when clients refuse to plan, unless the it is viewed as both important and urgent, out of fear? How do we encourage clients to adopt long-term strategic thinking and behaviour. Here’s how we approach it. #KeepingLifeCurrent http://ow.ly/l53V30rceX8

#NorthernRiverReflection #Gathering In the words of Alice Waters: This is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive. ... Its something that has been restricted in various forms in the last six months. We have had to practice self isolation and physical distancing. It has been hard for everyone. We are all social animals and need the companionship and comradely. We are used to gathering together whether as family and friends. We are accustomed to working in social settings. My partner and I gathered with good friends this evening respecting our pandemic protocol. We gathered around a fire and enjoyed good conversation, light heartened humour and a chance to catch up with each other. We see it at social functions, family dinners, and going out with friends. Its something we needed. Waters reminds us of the power of gathering. Its about inspiration, hope, joy and thought. The power of gathering makes us more alive. I am a person who needs others around me. I seek gathering. In reflection, all my life has revolved around being around others. There has never been a time where we have needed the power of gathering more. Gathering with others is ingrained in us. Humans are not completely whole unless we have others to gather around or gather with. It is a support mechanism humans have known since the dawn of time. We all need to find ways of gathering safely. We are not in this world alone. We are in it together. The power of gathering is a function of #KeepingLifeCurrent.

#NorthernRiverReflection #Seek In the words of Rumi: The inspiration you seek is already within you. Be silent and listen. ... I was out early this morning and drove an hour out of town to seek a specific species of Goose that is rare in our area. I know, two hours to seek out a bird, right? But you know what, I found it. It sparked an inspiration in my mind. So today I wrote about #Seek. The verb seek is simple enough. Its defined as an attempt or desire to obtain or achieve. There’s the magic word. Achieve. Unless we seek, we never will achieve what we want in life. Rumi tells us that the inspiration to seek is already within you. You just have to find it. As a wildlife photographer, I have a continuing need to seek out new to me, hard to find, and rare species. The Goose I mention was from the Arctic and for some reason found itself down south amongst large groups of Canada Geese he has associated with. I reflected back and concluded that all the goals and objectives I sought in past, I was mostly successful in achieving. I do know something for sure. If I did not seek them, I never would have achieved them. We all have different callings. As Remi said, the inspiration to seek is absolutely already within us. We struggle with how to seek. Rumi qualified his statement. He said that to find the inspiration, we need to be silent and listen. I recall how many people I encounter who say they never see wildlife or do not know to find them. Extend that into life, where people are constantly saying they do not know how to determine or find their own goals. What do I tell them? Be silent and listen. You find out more this way then through sight. Not everything is obvious or right in front of our noses. The trouble is we have trouble being silent. Not many of us are effective listeners. But to truly seek and find what we seek, we need to listen to ourselves. It is within us. To seek and find is an element of #KeepingLifeCurrent.

Times are changing. We have an emerging client. The young professional. There was a time financial planning for young professionals was something almost impossible to find. There is such a thing. Let's look at the critical elements. #KeepingLifeCurrent http://ow.ly/zEkZ30r9M72