September 16, 2026
The world around us is
changing, and sometimes faster than we’re comfortable with. The last few
months, for me, have put me in mind of the feeling I had at the first amusement
park I went to after having given birth to my first child. Before having kids,
I loved those rides. After? Well, one ride was all it took to let me know those
days of feeling at risk and upside down were behind me forever.
I fared better than my
brother. He never could stomach them. He could barely stomach looking at a bowl
of Jello.
But I digress.
I’ve been trying very hard not
to go running helter-skelter through current events emulating Chicken Little of
old European folklore fame. Metaphorically, of course since I cannot now, nor
will I ever again, be able to run.
But I do have a few things to
say. And you won’t need to buckle up.
You all know that I’m Canadian.
I’ve never hidden that fact, and yes, you also know I am proud of my country.
Every citizen who lives in a country should own a sense of patriotic pride for
the nation that is their home.
I have never agreed one
hundred percent with any Canadian Prime Minister in my lifetime. They have all,
regardless of political party, had their good points and their not-so-good
points. We have episodes of deep shame in our history, and I have never denied
that fact, either. No nation is perfect. And the only perfect human being who
ever lived died on the cross. Which was not a murder, by the way; it was a
sacrifice. His life was not taken from Him. He laid it down.
I have also traveled
extensively in the U.S. I’ve been to 30 of the lower 48 states! I have many
American friends, and my very best friends are American. I love my American
friends as much as I love my Canadian friends, my Ukrainian friends, my Polish
friends….well, you get the idea.
A subject in these essays of
mine that is likely one of the most repeated and was in fact the topic of my
very first Wednesday’s Words written prior to my first book being released was
that we have more in common, we Americans and Canadians, than the total of
differences that may exist between us.
The Bible teaches us to hate
the sin but love the sinner and I’ve tried to live my life that way. I do hate
sin in all its forms. And I’m working very hard on keeping sin the only object
in my life to receive my hate. Do I stumble? Of course, I do. But I keep
trying.
I am a work in progress.
If one is going to espouse a
doctrine/belief/tenet, then one needs to truly do so—one needs to walk as one
talks. Of all the words in the Bible that I’ve read—and I have read them all,
more than once—the words I always return to are those ones that are printed in
red.
Politics is politics and can
be used as a vehicle for more than one motive. And as politics is an invention
of humans, those motives can be anything from benign to good to bad to evil. Politics
is fluid; it is ever changing, ever adapting, and therefore not a matter of
permanence. Convenience? Yes. Permanence? No.
But values? Values are
forever. They are solid and, in my opinion, foundational. And therefore, it is
my values that I cling to. My values prod me to help others where I can; to do
my best to begin each day with a positive attitude. To do my share, or as much
of my share as I am able. To not judge other human beings, as that’s not for me
to do. And most importantly, to be kind to whomever I encounter in my day to
day life—in person, on the phone, or online.
And to be kind to myself,
first.
Why first? Just as I’ve always
believed that as one must put on their own oxygen mask before helping another
with theirs, being kind to myself first—by not indulging in negative self-talk,
calling myself names, or assuming responsibility that I do not own—allows
me to more freely and easily be kind to others.
Do I stumble? Of course, I do.
But I keep trying.
I really am a work in
progress.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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