Blue JAYS!........count me in

Part of my 2015....

To & Fro the Prestigious GE Capital 201 Merrrit 7, Nowark office in Connecticut, USA

Country Guide East_My 2016 Cheryl Somerville Award...Page 29

The May/June 2016 Edition of Country Guide, a Canada-wide agricultural publication of great repute had a synopsis of the 2016 Cheryl Somerville, P.Ag. Distingushed Young Agrologist Award I was given by the Ontario Institute of Agrology (OIA) in March 2016.

According to the Registrar of the organization, ''This award is not given each year.  In fact, there has not been a recipient since 2012 and prior to that, not awarded since 2005''

The award nomination and subsequent presentation was a humbling experience that I will forever cherish.

Below is the link to the publication on Page 29.

http://static.agcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/CGE160524-1.pdf#_ga=1.33094526.1139665034.1465478087

Knights Table Brampton: Supporting a good cause to end hunger in Peel Region

Together with a group of valiant men from the faith community in Peel Region, Ontario, we donated non-perishable food items and also volunteered our time to package foods, clean dishes, organize furniture in the dinning area and serve lunch at the Knights Table.

What a refreshing experience it was! I'd do this over and over again.

Mark your Calendar!

June 23^rd 2016 is the date and the event is Britain’s Referendum for a YES or NO vote to either stay with its other Brothers and Sisters in the European Union or part ways.

Having barely recovered from the ‘traumatic threat’ of a recent Scottish good-bye, Britain now has to deal with another malady – a possible cut from its 27 acquaintances of over 40 years; a potential ‘no-more’ to the European Union (EU) blog.

One thing is different though; with the Scotland issue, Britain wanted this alliance. With the EU issue however, Britain (or most Britons) desire an exit. This has therefore made a way for the new lingo ‘Brexit’ into our vocabulary.

With some of its constituent nations currently limping economically, an unfettered access to the UK is the hope of many inhabitants and organizations within the EU. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have become the El Dorado and the country of economic relief to many Europeans. Britain however wants specific barriers; barriers that many consider unfriendly and unwarranted.

A geo-economic and political blog currently battling unprecedented and multi-faceted crises certainly would try not to exacerbate its woes. It would do all it can, pulling all its might, to prevent a further crack-down on its fragile wall. Unfortunately, it can only do so to the extent that the voices of its other 27 members count on issues that Britain contends on. On the table are several agreements, regulations, directives and decisions that economic and political leaders in the EU are negotiating and lobbying on.

Opinions are flying, polls are jamming, results are differing; there is no clear direction on where the pendulum will swing.

I personally think a ‘Bristay’ is the right path in line with my personal philosophy that Bridges should be built not burnt, but I am not a Briton and my opinion certainly remains mine at a time like this.

The question then is why do I care which way Britain goes in its Referendum and why don’t I leave matter for Mathias and Sabi for Sabinus? (Pidgin for ‘why don’t I care less’). The truth is that I believe I was born to be an Advocate of Collaboration and Togetherness; wherever I see Trust being torn apart, I feel a call to action; whenever Cooperation is being exchanged for Competition, a cord in me is strucked even though sometimes I cannot do much about the situation.

Not that I am a Pundit on regional collaborations especially as it pertains to the EU, but I have a built special fervor and interest in International Development and Global Matters and I believe I may have a significant role to play in this space someday soon.

As it stands, I have marked my calendar and I am hoping that the final decision taken by Britons on June 23^rd would bring tranquility to Britain and the EU.

#deescalate crisis.

Only Take What You Need.

As a resource management expert, I recall studying the works of Garrett Hardin on the Tragedy of the Commons during my postgraduate classes at the University of Bonn. Although an Ecologist, Garrett Hardin, in his ground-breaking 1968 article extrapolated a number of social and economic rationales for ensuring that free access and untamed demand for a finite resource does not ultimately deplete such resource, either temporarily or permanently.

While commonly applied in the context of environmental management and sustainable development, the truth postulated by this theory, I would argue, is applicable to every facets of human existence.

Our world today hangs on a delicate and fragile beam; the ‘me-alone’ actions of a few of us are daily resulting in the lots of us starving and despairing. We have a situation now where the one-percents have ‘hijacked’ and depleted the resources owned by the hundred-percents leaving the fate of the ninety-nine percents hanging in the balance. Quite a paradox!

Not necessarily out of proactivity or rationality but rather out of insensitivity and utter disregard for the well-being of others, certain elements through their insatiable and misguided appetites, are accessing our ‘collective storehouses’ and are succeeding in depriving the many of us, our hopes and reasons for living.

These elements are everywhere across the globe, though they sometimes disguisedly garb themselves up, mimicking the lifestyles and passions of the ninety-nine percents. Unfortunately, they are foreign to the deep-seated cries of the Lots; they would not wait to be confronted with the aftermath of their misbehavior. These elements are spoilers and looters – they are not for real.

For me, wherever you find humans, you’ll find the propensities for normalcy as well as for abnormalities. Through personal choices, some individuals gravitate towards wrong-doings and consequently cause the larger population around them to bear the brunt of their misdemeanors. These are people who would not only mismanage the tangible resources meant for ALL, but would go further to trample on the intangible ones – the trust, the relationships and the opportunities that bind humanity together.

Today, gross imbalances exist within every stratum of our national and communal lives and we are at a point where nothing is really common anymore; we now have to deal with a tragedy because some of us have and are still taking more than what they need from what belongs to all of us.

I would submit that the foundation of the greed, corruption and subjugation that we see in our world today is an anti-social behavior that hides behind fear and wickedness and seeks to exclude others from accessing what should be common. This foundation is what we need to tackle and root out ruthlessly even as we collectively remind ourselves to take only what we need from our world and leave the rest for others.

Mix and Match

Some things go together and some others don't. Not that I am trumpeting the scientific ideology that 'likes repel and opposites attract', but i speak from the premise of one connecting to the specific people, places and processes that would help to actualize ones vision and mission.

Sometimes, likes attract as we may see with a God-filled family where both spouses, although formed from different worldviews, agree to God's agenda for their home thereby attracting heaven's attention each moment all the way.

In life, the ability to sieve through the chaos and confusions attendant with each day and stages of existence and connect to ones true purpose, would be important if the reason for being born is to be fulfilled.

I call it mix and match  - being able to find the right blends (again of people, places & processes) to help us achieve our God-ordained outcomes. I call it seeking the face of God and being willing to have Him guide us all the way.

No all things are important - as humans, we must constantly train ourselves to choose only the things that line up with our identity and assignment and have the courage to let go of the others that are alien to our mission.