In January of this year, certain events took place that influenced the start of a huge change in my life. A change I knew was coming, but a change that I would have to wait and be patient for. This was an escape from a company whose culture bore a negative disposition, poor morale, and low quality of life. After four years of hardship and exploitation I decided to leave a company whose silent moto was this: “The beatings will stop when the morale improves,” as one friend put it. Management made that decision easy for me when I no longer accepted unsafe flying practices if I was the pilot flying or not. I was honest about how I felt about the things they allowed to happen and the way they managed the company. Don’t get me wrong… The people (not including management) and the experiences made the treachery worthwhile. These are great people--skilled and talented pilots that I respect and consider great friends. I was unhappy at this company for a long time, and the time came for a positive change. Amen!
Two days after leaving this company, the Chief Pilot of West Wind Aviation gave me a call for an interview. It only lasted ten minutes or so, most of which was small talk, then we were going for a “tour.” I was introduced to all the Management Staff at West Wind Aviation, including the CEO and Director of Flight Operations, all smiling and happy to see me even though I was not yet an employee. The only time Management would want to talk to me at my old place of work was when I did something wrong.
We continued the tour meeting other employees: pilots, accountants, human resources and maintenance personnel, ramp attendants etc.. Everybody stopped what they were doing to say a friendly hello and made me feel welcomed. I was not at all accustomed to this type of treatment, especially when, as I recall a time at my previous employer, one Director told me to get out of her way after I had greeted her one morning. Ouch!
Next, was the Simulator where I had to demonstrate my flying skills. This simulator was a step up from the one we practiced on at Selkirk College, and was quite realistic with its projection screens and cockpit layout. I did well according to what the C.P. had indicated. He said he would give me a call within a week to tell me if there were any positions management felt I was best suited for.
A day later, the C.P. called me to say that I was going to be employed on the Jetstream (an aircraft I had previous experience on) at West Wind. I was ecstatic!
To this day, almost half way through the year now, West Wind has been a breath of fresh air from what I was used to. They have been really good to me treating me with dignity, respect, and appreciation. The schedule is fantastic (off on the weekends), uniforms are borne by the company, descent pay, potential profit sharing, cell phone allowance, occasional monthly gifts, a high regard for safety, well maintained aircraft, topped off with a positive atmosphere and wonderful people. What else could anybody ask for? I'm happy again. :-)
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
T.H.I.N.K.
My “Summer Mom,” Irene, is a newly retired teacher of 30 years. She taught this acronym to her kindergarten kids:
T.H.I.N.K. before speaking and ask yourself if it is:
Thoughtful
Helpful
Important
Necessary
Kind
My mom taught me this: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.”
Point is, I’m 25 years old, and despite what both of my mothers have taught me, I’m still working on this one.
T.H.I.N.K. before speaking and ask yourself if it is:
Thoughtful
Helpful
Important
Necessary
Kind
My mom taught me this: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.”
Point is, I’m 25 years old, and despite what both of my mothers have taught me, I’m still working on this one.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
The Auroras
North of 59 degrees of latitude it is always twilight during the summer months and it never gets dark. No constellations, rarely stars or planets, perhaps a faded moon, and never any visible northern lights.
It’s now fall and the days have become shorter. Come the first day of winter, the sun will slightly arc over the horizon giving us enough light from about nine or ten in the morning to about half-past four in the afternoon. And in January, the coldest month of the year, all of the beautiful celestial bodies and phenomena are clear, crisp and alive.
When the moon isn’t glowing and the blanket of snow isn’t sparkling, the Aurora Borealis get all the attention, only for a handful of days a month. When the moon is asleep, the stars radiate a faint bluish light, and collectively, they create our galaxy—The Milky Way. In addition to GOD’s earthly creations, Venus, Mars, Ursa Major, Orion and other planets and constellations, like to come out and watch the Auroras perform their memorizing art in dance.
I remember a frigid and freakishly cold night almost two years ago where I witnessed something so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. This night fell within a cold spell that lasted two straight weeks where the temperature did not warm up beyond -35˚c, and one morning, the mercury thermometer indicated -49˚c with no wind.
We were towing the Navajo (a small 10-seater piston aircraft) into the hangar, and I noticed something happening in the sky above. I looked up to the heavens above and saw something so incredible it made me feel like I was in another world. I suddenly felt so euphoric, happy, joyful, ecstatic, fortunate, grateful, and I felt love surrounding me. In my heart I felt so many good things that I knew GOD came to whoever was there and listening, to say “I remember and I love you.”
When a feather is placed in the air, it will sway, spin, vibrate, and rise with air currents as it slowly makes its eventual way back to the Earth. Incandescent colors of green, red, purple, and blue were dancing harmoniously together in perfect rhythm. And like the feather, they began to descend from above, to the point where I could almost touch them. All around me, this bright, beautiful display of fast moving tones of tinted diamonds in the sky were skipping over one another like a pianist playing scales in 64ths. Over the black star-lit stage, blues danced with the greens, and reds with the purples, simultaneously switching partners in unison.
GOD’s graceful performance was over, and he withdrew his magical, multi-colored, luminous crystal instruments from around me, and lifted them back into Heaven. And all that was left was a fading greenish glow, disappearing into the stars tightly surrounded by blackness.
One moment in time. A moment that seemed like hours, was over in less than 60 seconds. This was one of the most beautiful moments of my life and I am grateful for having experienced it.
It’s now fall and the days have become shorter. Come the first day of winter, the sun will slightly arc over the horizon giving us enough light from about nine or ten in the morning to about half-past four in the afternoon. And in January, the coldest month of the year, all of the beautiful celestial bodies and phenomena are clear, crisp and alive.
When the moon isn’t glowing and the blanket of snow isn’t sparkling, the Aurora Borealis get all the attention, only for a handful of days a month. When the moon is asleep, the stars radiate a faint bluish light, and collectively, they create our galaxy—The Milky Way. In addition to GOD’s earthly creations, Venus, Mars, Ursa Major, Orion and other planets and constellations, like to come out and watch the Auroras perform their memorizing art in dance.
I remember a frigid and freakishly cold night almost two years ago where I witnessed something so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. This night fell within a cold spell that lasted two straight weeks where the temperature did not warm up beyond -35˚c, and one morning, the mercury thermometer indicated -49˚c with no wind.
We were towing the Navajo (a small 10-seater piston aircraft) into the hangar, and I noticed something happening in the sky above. I looked up to the heavens above and saw something so incredible it made me feel like I was in another world. I suddenly felt so euphoric, happy, joyful, ecstatic, fortunate, grateful, and I felt love surrounding me. In my heart I felt so many good things that I knew GOD came to whoever was there and listening, to say “I remember and I love you.”
When a feather is placed in the air, it will sway, spin, vibrate, and rise with air currents as it slowly makes its eventual way back to the Earth. Incandescent colors of green, red, purple, and blue were dancing harmoniously together in perfect rhythm. And like the feather, they began to descend from above, to the point where I could almost touch them. All around me, this bright, beautiful display of fast moving tones of tinted diamonds in the sky were skipping over one another like a pianist playing scales in 64ths. Over the black star-lit stage, blues danced with the greens, and reds with the purples, simultaneously switching partners in unison.
GOD’s graceful performance was over, and he withdrew his magical, multi-colored, luminous crystal instruments from around me, and lifted them back into Heaven. And all that was left was a fading greenish glow, disappearing into the stars tightly surrounded by blackness.
One moment in time. A moment that seemed like hours, was over in less than 60 seconds. This was one of the most beautiful moments of my life and I am grateful for having experienced it.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Seven Successive Days
The wheels have left the ground, and the turboprop aircraft is now supported in the air by its two large, stretched out wings that are attached to two roaring engines each putting out 1,735 horsepower. I’m free! But free for one week only. One week a month, I get a holiday called a “rotation.” I look forward to this rotation which happens only once every 30 days like the moon in its entirety. In my mind I deserve it. They give us this holiday because we give up our freedoms and luxuries for three weeks at a time, in the cold, isolated, and desolate North. One week is what I have, and during that week, I make up for lost time and I try to experience and live as much as I can, in each moment that I am given. Seven days, 168 hours, 10,080 minutes, 604,800 seconds…
Saturday, September 02, 2006
No god, but GOD
There are over 6 billion people in the world, each having their own ideas and thoughts about God’s identity and His purpose within their lives. Who is God? What is God? Where do we find Him? The questions are infinite and multifaceted, and I’m not certain if there will ever be definite answers to fill the intricate paradox of GOD.
I can only explain a small amount of a great puzzle that I have come to experience during my life of a quarter-century insofar. I don’t think any one individual, or group of individuals, can give an accurate account of God because despite common beliefs, or those uncommon, everybody has their own unique experience of God.
I heard this somewhere: “The kingdom of God is within you and around you. My Church is not made of wood, stone or mortar. Split a piece of wood and I am there. Look under a rock and you will find me.”
Although I was raised a Roman Catholic, I find myself lost and adrift, searching for the correct path to take in terms of my spirituality. I do not belong to any denomination whether it is Catholic, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or Jewish. I am not prejudice or racist against any religious denomination or any individuals belonging to a certain religious group. I respect their choices, their beliefs, and their cultures.
My choice not to belong to a specific religion is because I am a firm believer that religions divide societies more than they bring societies together. Looking back throughout history, religion has played a major part in many conflicts and ethnocentric suppression among societies all over the world. There have been bloody and brutal wars fought and countless lives lost over whose interpretation of GOD was more righteous.
This is not to say that I do not adopt certain principals or ideas from religion because I do. The morals and the ethics from most religions are relatively similar, and I think everybody should verse themselves with these qualities and virtues.
Take the seven virtues from the Bible: Love, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Joy, and Self-Control. Shouldn’t everybody practice these? What about the Buddhists who are all about honour, respect, inner/outer peace, and tranquility? The Jews and the Christians with their Ten Commandments: “Thou shall not kill, steal, or cheat…?” These are things we should all know and ethics we should exercise everyday.
Most people find God in Churches, Mosques, Temples or Synagogues. Some find God in the Qu’ran or the Bible and others find Him in unexplained miracles or events. Some see God in Prayer, and sadly, some can only find God in the form of bread.
There are better days than others, but there are always signs that God is with us and all around us. All we have to do is look, listen, breathe and feel. Breathe, smell, touch, taste, and breathe.
God is present when the sun rises, trees sway to and fro, leaves flicker, a flower blooms in adversity, birds sing harmoniously, a baby is born. He is with us when warm moist air rises, clouds are formed, a raindrop falls, wind blows across our ears, a crash of thunder erupts, ocean waves slam the shoreline, and the Auroras dance blue, green, red, and purple. He is there when somebody smiles, another plays music for your ears, a boy opens a door for an elderly lady, when a friend embraces you, and a loved-one kisses you.
God is present when we find inner courage, strength, and perseverance to accomplish challenging goals and endeavours. During our struggles he walks alongside, juxtaposed, and points to the right people that are meant to help us back to our feet. And when we’re growing as human beings, sometimes certain individuals will cross our paths for a reason, and it is up to us to either learn or pass on something unique from the moments spent together.
The only way we can truly find happiness is by being grateful for everything we have and beginning to appreciate every aspect of God, and all the small clues he leaves for us to find; to remind us he is still there and that he loves us.
God is in your heart, my heart, his heart, her heart, their hearts. All you have to do is Love and you will find God.
“The kingdom of God is within you and around you. My Church is not made of wood, stone or mortar. Split a piece of wood and I am there. Look under a rock and you will find me.”
This is my experience of God.
I can only explain a small amount of a great puzzle that I have come to experience during my life of a quarter-century insofar. I don’t think any one individual, or group of individuals, can give an accurate account of God because despite common beliefs, or those uncommon, everybody has their own unique experience of God.
I heard this somewhere: “The kingdom of God is within you and around you. My Church is not made of wood, stone or mortar. Split a piece of wood and I am there. Look under a rock and you will find me.”
Although I was raised a Roman Catholic, I find myself lost and adrift, searching for the correct path to take in terms of my spirituality. I do not belong to any denomination whether it is Catholic, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist or Jewish. I am not prejudice or racist against any religious denomination or any individuals belonging to a certain religious group. I respect their choices, their beliefs, and their cultures.
My choice not to belong to a specific religion is because I am a firm believer that religions divide societies more than they bring societies together. Looking back throughout history, religion has played a major part in many conflicts and ethnocentric suppression among societies all over the world. There have been bloody and brutal wars fought and countless lives lost over whose interpretation of GOD was more righteous.
This is not to say that I do not adopt certain principals or ideas from religion because I do. The morals and the ethics from most religions are relatively similar, and I think everybody should verse themselves with these qualities and virtues.
Take the seven virtues from the Bible: Love, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Joy, and Self-Control. Shouldn’t everybody practice these? What about the Buddhists who are all about honour, respect, inner/outer peace, and tranquility? The Jews and the Christians with their Ten Commandments: “Thou shall not kill, steal, or cheat…?” These are things we should all know and ethics we should exercise everyday.
Most people find God in Churches, Mosques, Temples or Synagogues. Some find God in the Qu’ran or the Bible and others find Him in unexplained miracles or events. Some see God in Prayer, and sadly, some can only find God in the form of bread.
There are better days than others, but there are always signs that God is with us and all around us. All we have to do is look, listen, breathe and feel. Breathe, smell, touch, taste, and breathe.
God is present when the sun rises, trees sway to and fro, leaves flicker, a flower blooms in adversity, birds sing harmoniously, a baby is born. He is with us when warm moist air rises, clouds are formed, a raindrop falls, wind blows across our ears, a crash of thunder erupts, ocean waves slam the shoreline, and the Auroras dance blue, green, red, and purple. He is there when somebody smiles, another plays music for your ears, a boy opens a door for an elderly lady, when a friend embraces you, and a loved-one kisses you.
God is present when we find inner courage, strength, and perseverance to accomplish challenging goals and endeavours. During our struggles he walks alongside, juxtaposed, and points to the right people that are meant to help us back to our feet. And when we’re growing as human beings, sometimes certain individuals will cross our paths for a reason, and it is up to us to either learn or pass on something unique from the moments spent together.
The only way we can truly find happiness is by being grateful for everything we have and beginning to appreciate every aspect of God, and all the small clues he leaves for us to find; to remind us he is still there and that he loves us.
God is in your heart, my heart, his heart, her heart, their hearts. All you have to do is Love and you will find God.
“The kingdom of God is within you and around you. My Church is not made of wood, stone or mortar. Split a piece of wood and I am there. Look under a rock and you will find me.”
This is my experience of God.
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