The Holiday Season is officially here! For most of us, this will be the first time in two years that we are able to celebrate Christmas with our friends and loved ones. Whether you view this as a good thing or a bad thing of course will depend on how much you enjoy spending time with your friends and loved ones. Regardless, it’s a nice feeling to have a bit of normalcy back in our lives after living through this Global Pandemic for the better part of the past 24 months.

No social distancing needed.

No masks required.

And No COVID Vaccine debate being had.

Instead, we now have new topics to discuss and address such as the war in Ukraine, the ongoing human rights crisis in Iran, rising interest rates, inflation, and a looming recession. I understand that the Holidays are a time for celebration, however in my opinion it would be ignorant to not at least acknowledge the issues we are currently facing as a Global Community.

Insignificant Piss & Dribble

As a Personal Trainer/Coach I suppose I should be providing you with some copy & paste “tips” to help prevent you from gaining too much weight over this holiday season. And perhaps I could provide a few generic stock photos to go along with these tips to help make my message more attractive and clickable. Well, as much as I hate to disappoint anyone who was hoping for some PG-13 holiday piss and dribble this year, I will be conveying no such message.

If you don’t want to gain weight this holiday season, go the gym and watch what you eat.

There. Done. Yes, it’s that simple.

Significant Issues

I honestly don’t know where to start. As I write today’s blog, it’s been exactly 300 days since Russia unjustly invaded Ukraine. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as of December 18th, the number of military and civilian victims so far is likely to be in the tens of thousands. Families have been torn apart. People are being forced to leave their home country in rising numbers. And although numerous sanctions have been placed on Russia for this unjust war, there looks to be no end or conflict resolution in sight.

Although I feel incredibly fortunate and am grateful to live in a country like Canada, it’s difficult to turn my head the other way and celebrate a holiday that seems meaningless right now.

Instead, I turn my head the other way and see the ongoing crisis that is currently playing out in Iran. The reality is that the people of Iran are in the midst of an economic crisis. Between a lack of freedom of expression, ignoring women’s rights, brutal killing of people during civil protests, internet cutoffs and of course the killing of Mahsa Amini, Iran is a country in turmoil.

What Can We Do?

As a country that supports human rights, allows freedom of speech and believes in gender equality, we need to continue to show our support for both the people of Ukraine and the people of Iran by standing united with them. This means attending the protests that are held within our cities, sending Humanitarian supplies where needed, donating to reputable charities and organizations, and ensuring that our message that this unjust and corrupt behaviour by Russia and Iran’s leaders will not be tolerated is spread worldwide.

Sure, we can celebrate Christmas this year. And yes, we should all be thankful to live in a peaceful country that offers us protection and rights. But as Canadians, I feel that we need to continue to do our part to help and show our support for the people of Ukraine and Iran, regardless of what holiday season it might be.

“Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights or keep them.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance