Hey everyone,
After a recent visit to Choices Youth Shelter in Orangeville, Ontario(www.youthchoices.org), it became clear what I had to do! They have 20 kids living with them this holiday season, 14 boys and 6 girls, and I want to ensure that they get to enjoy The holidays however possible. I was presented with a wish list and after only 12 hours the support has been amazing. I believe we are going to get every item on the list, and then some! Here is the list, and anything anyone can do to help would be amazing! Even just forwarding this blog is helpful, trust me on that.
The list is as follows:
Food Gift Cards- e.g, Tim Hortons Cards, McDonalds, Montana's, etc
XL Hoodies
Peanut Butter
Video Games (Original Wii or XBox)
Long Distance Phone Cards
Store Gift Cards- Walmart, Zellers, Sears, The Source, etc.
Colouring Pages
Art Supplies
Music Gift Cards- HMV, Walmart, Zellers
Movies-DVD's
Movie Passes- Cineplex, AMC, Famous Players
Writing Journals
Handheld Electronics
Winter boots size 10-12 mens
Thank you in advance for anything you can do! I can be reached directly at joshua@joshuastern.ca
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Why do we hurt the people we love?
I have been going through a whirlwind of emotions lately as my professional life and my personal life are so closely intertwined that I feel I'm on a collision course of catastrophic magnitude. I strive for greatness, I want to provide a good life for my family, I want to help others, and most of all I just want to smile a little more. Throughout the last 10 months as this latest chapter of my life began I don't think I ever fully prepared for what the outcome would or could be.
When I began writing my life story it was first therapeutic, and secondly in hopes that I could get the work published, and with the proceeds and the underlying theme's, help many others that struggle as I do. What has actually happened has kind of got me reeling. While the professional side of my work seems to be moving along rather well, the personal side is not. I have work with 2 different youth shelters starting in January, I am becoming the spokesperson for a third organization, and I am working on an At-Risk Youth Handbook if you will, as well as establishing some After school programs for these kids. It's been an awesome personal high, but almost like Rudyard Kipling says in his poem "If", when one side is high, the other will be low, and if we can stare these two imposter's right in the face and treat them exactly the same, then you may "get it".
My family has not taken very kindly to the initial story, even though none of them have read it, or even inquired what it is about, and it has taken a major toll on myself, my wife, my father, and my brother, just to mention a few. Why is it that it's so difficult for us as individuals to accept that if we say and do things guided by best intentions and positivity, that the person we are talking too doesn't have the same intentions!? I believe fear and lack of communication leave us with too many questions to answer for ourselves, and when that begins to occur, you as an individual are in trouble. I mean for you personally it may work out, but if you are trying to live a life where you are close with several others, you may have to learn that sometimes your own thoughts, are not the only ones to be considered, and some times being right is wrong. For if two people can see the same scenario totally different, how could they ever have resolution. I believe that it no longer becomes about the particular scenario and it becomes more about those two individuals and which is more important, to be "right", or to be able to call that person a close friend. Sometimes we must put aside our own thoughts and wishes IF we believe that the individual is worth it. It seems somewhat crazy to me, but it's true. In order to have friends and confidants, we must find ways to ignore the way we think as individuals, and try harder to understand what it's like to think as the majority would.
At the end of the day it is a very difficult thing to weave your way through this interesting thing we call life, and I guess it all comes down to who you are and what you want, but remember this one thing. To me, if you really want to have personal success, you must learn to find your inner voice, and let this be your one true guide. Yes you will have many people that tell you you're selfish or blind, or what have you, but on the other side of that coin you will find many who respect you, honor you, and do everything in their power to assist you even though your visions are not theirs.
I would love to hear your comments and thoughts on the subject so please leave them here or you can email me directly at joshua@joshuastern.ca.
When I began writing my life story it was first therapeutic, and secondly in hopes that I could get the work published, and with the proceeds and the underlying theme's, help many others that struggle as I do. What has actually happened has kind of got me reeling. While the professional side of my work seems to be moving along rather well, the personal side is not. I have work with 2 different youth shelters starting in January, I am becoming the spokesperson for a third organization, and I am working on an At-Risk Youth Handbook if you will, as well as establishing some After school programs for these kids. It's been an awesome personal high, but almost like Rudyard Kipling says in his poem "If", when one side is high, the other will be low, and if we can stare these two imposter's right in the face and treat them exactly the same, then you may "get it".
My family has not taken very kindly to the initial story, even though none of them have read it, or even inquired what it is about, and it has taken a major toll on myself, my wife, my father, and my brother, just to mention a few. Why is it that it's so difficult for us as individuals to accept that if we say and do things guided by best intentions and positivity, that the person we are talking too doesn't have the same intentions!? I believe fear and lack of communication leave us with too many questions to answer for ourselves, and when that begins to occur, you as an individual are in trouble. I mean for you personally it may work out, but if you are trying to live a life where you are close with several others, you may have to learn that sometimes your own thoughts, are not the only ones to be considered, and some times being right is wrong. For if two people can see the same scenario totally different, how could they ever have resolution. I believe that it no longer becomes about the particular scenario and it becomes more about those two individuals and which is more important, to be "right", or to be able to call that person a close friend. Sometimes we must put aside our own thoughts and wishes IF we believe that the individual is worth it. It seems somewhat crazy to me, but it's true. In order to have friends and confidants, we must find ways to ignore the way we think as individuals, and try harder to understand what it's like to think as the majority would.
At the end of the day it is a very difficult thing to weave your way through this interesting thing we call life, and I guess it all comes down to who you are and what you want, but remember this one thing. To me, if you really want to have personal success, you must learn to find your inner voice, and let this be your one true guide. Yes you will have many people that tell you you're selfish or blind, or what have you, but on the other side of that coin you will find many who respect you, honor you, and do everything in their power to assist you even though your visions are not theirs.
I would love to hear your comments and thoughts on the subject so please leave them here or you can email me directly at joshua@joshuastern.ca.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
A Moment of Destiny??
Today I had one of the more peculiar and incredible experiences of my life. On a journey that had begun over a month ago, I was trying to find out more about the Ba hai faith, a religion that my brother in law is a believer in. For the holidays I wanted to make a donation in his name but I was surprised to learn that they only accept donations from Ba hai members. I had also been given a list of books he wanted for Christmas , so I inquired. I was directed to a distribution center in Scarborough, Ontario where I met a delightfully pleasant woman by the name of Soosan. After briefly explaining what I was doing there she quickly helped me find what I was looking for. As she was preparing my invoice we started chatting and before I knew it she stood up, removed her glasses, and stared me dead in the eyes. With the softest smile and voice she said, "I have a lot of intuition, and may I just tell you that you are someone special?" Obviously I was a little stunned and taken back, but I thanked her and asked her what she meant. "You have special purpose here and you are going to achieve everything!" I must have been pale as a ghost at this point because I couldn't help but think how random and crazy this was, yet at the same time it felt so normal and right. She told me I had been touched by god and before I went to leave, with a tear in her eye, she asked me if she could hug me. Flattered, I told her "of course you can, if more people hugged randomly like this we'd all be in a better place!" With that she thanked me for coming in, smiled and we said goodbye. I walked out feeling like I was on top of the world and for whatever its worth, Soosan, if you read this, thank you very much for your kind words, if nothing else they have provided me with even more motivation to complete my quest!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Thinking out loud!
I wanted to take a moment to reflect on a one of the current events in my life. I am very excited to say that the work on the At-Risk Youth Guide we are doing is truly fufuling. I have uncovered so many of my own locked away secrets just by putting pen to paper in an attempt to help others who struggle as I did and still do at times. It is amazing to me that with all the news about bullying, teen suicide, and teen drug and alcohol use, that more is not being done to offset this phenomenon! As opposed to focusing on all three as separate entities, I suggest that if we merely focus on what leads to all these kids being at risk, then we can figure out how they are becoming at-risk, and then what we can do to change it! I'm quite sure that we can all agree that a bully or victim of bullying, a drug using teen, and any kid that considers or chooses suicide, are all at-risk. I know it's terrible what's happening with all these bullies and their victims, but is nobody truly interested in why that youngster is a bully in the first lace? Maybe their life outside of school is a terrible one? As opposed to reacting to these kids like they are monsters, or like they are aware of why they do these things, why don't we try to asses what's going on for that child and try rescuing them as well as their victims.
Throughout my work with at-risk youth, and being a survivor myself, I have witnessed an enormous amount of misplaced anger and emotions. If these kids don't have the ability to process and deal with these emotions, how can we hold them fully accountable for their actions which are based on those emotions!?
I encourage you to comment and share your thoughts!
Throughout my work with at-risk youth, and being a survivor myself, I have witnessed an enormous amount of misplaced anger and emotions. If these kids don't have the ability to process and deal with these emotions, how can we hold them fully accountable for their actions which are based on those emotions!?
I encourage you to comment and share your thoughts!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Incredible quote, thanks Dad!
Charles R. Swindoll:
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The Bullying Saga
The stories are popping up everywhere, it's becoming common place. Recently Rick Mercer ranted about bullying, Lady Gaga, Anderson Cooper, President Obama, and even Big Bird have taken up the fight, but is it enough? I remember bullying being a major problem when I was in school, the difference was not many kids were killing themselves over it for whatever reason. Today it's definitely changed, and the teen suicide rate is ridiculous. How can so many kids be falling though the cracks?
We must be missing something, do we not care enough, is that it? Why is it so difficult for us to hold these bullies accountable for their actions? Can we not have more teachers or school staff patrolling the school grounds? If we don't grab the bull by the horns how do we expect these issues to go away?
I suggest we create a campaign where nobody supports the bully, and there is no way that we accept this individual in society. So often it's the popular kids who do a lot of the bullying, why as adults can we not take that popularity away? If you are a bully, you don't get to participate in anything social at school, and the punishment should be humbling and embarrassing so that the individual can fully understand the impact of their actions. Regardless we need to stop talking about it and become more actively involved.
We must be missing something, do we not care enough, is that it? Why is it so difficult for us to hold these bullies accountable for their actions? Can we not have more teachers or school staff patrolling the school grounds? If we don't grab the bull by the horns how do we expect these issues to go away?
I suggest we create a campaign where nobody supports the bully, and there is no way that we accept this individual in society. So often it's the popular kids who do a lot of the bullying, why as adults can we not take that popularity away? If you are a bully, you don't get to participate in anything social at school, and the punishment should be humbling and embarrassing so that the individual can fully understand the impact of their actions. Regardless we need to stop talking about it and become more actively involved.
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