A Time for Resilience

By Dr. Puiwing Wong The Angus Reid Institute’s new year survey reports that young adults are twice as likely than the general population to expect greater stress in 2024. The President of Angus Reid noted that, unlike what he had seen for many years, the current subgroup of young adults “is not only most pessimistic about their financial situation but, concerningly, their stress levels”[1]. This corroborates the warning from The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health that there is a growing mental health crisis, especially among young people, and the problem is global[2]. Unhealthy use of social media has been identified as a major cause[3]. Disruptions from the

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HUMAN FOREST

By Dr. Paul Zung Suzanne Simard has produced research that has drawn our attention to how trees communicate with each other and share resources. We have learned that tree roots are interwoven with the delicate threads of fungal mycelium to form a vast underground network. Through this mycorrhizal network, trees exchange water, nutrients, and information about the environment. It is all happening right underneath our feet, below the forest floor. If you are new to this idea, please watch the short video link below summarizing what we have learned in the last few decades. It’s hard to resist seeing the trees as a metaphor for human society:  These

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Fight for Freedom – Keep our Youth and Children Safe from Exploitation

By Gladys M. Did you know the Bible has 2000 Scriptures about poverty and justice? “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17). “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13-14) “Therefore, it is not His design and purpose for His sons and daughters to be bought and sold. God’s heart breaks over-exploitation. And so, what does the Lord call of you? To act justly,

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A Look in the Mirror:Personal Reflection on Anti-Asian Hate

Rev. CY Yan More than half of Asian Canadians have suffered discrimination over the past year, according to a new survey from the Angus Reid Institute.  Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, reports of anti-Asian racism and xenophobia have risen in B.C.[1]  Vancouver, particularly, has experienced a 717% increase in anti-Asian hate crimes.  With 98 reported cases over the last year, Vancouver was recently dubbed the “anti-Asian hate crime capital of North America.”  In one incident, a young Montreal man was blinded by a group who attacked him with military-grade pepper spray.[2] Apart from the Asian community, we have all heard and seen the bitter divide between

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