Focusing on the good

It’s easy being cynical.

It’s easy to look at things, see the faults and shine a light on them like a spotlight pointing out the jagged outcroppings along the shore.

This is quite often the case in today’s news cycle, especially on the international scale where our neighbours to the south have a leader who dominates the headlines.

It can quite often be the case on the local stage as well, as our politicians at city hall go about the business of our municipality, never being able to achieve the impossible task of pleasing everyone.

However,  this is not the time of year to be cynical, or worry about what has happened, or for some city hall watchers, what hasn’t happened.

This is the time of year for looking around and searching out what is good in our city, because there sure is a lot of it.

There are those manning the floors of our local hospitals, tending to the sick. There are those volunteers and staffers at our shelters and drop-ins, serving up a hot meal and snack or a place to stay for those who have nowhere else to go this Christmas.

And there are those working in our local food banks, putting together care packages of food for those families who are having trouble making ends meet.

Now is the time of year to forget about business, forget about politics, and remember that we all live in this city together, and regardless of what happens on the streets or at city hall, it is us that makes this city what it is, which is a pretty great place to live.

For those looking to perhaps give back this holiday season, look no further than the great organizations in this city helping those in need, like the Simcoe Hall Settlement House, Gate 3:16, the Cornerstone Community Association, and of course, Feed the Need in Durham, whose holiday campaign is detailed on Page 1 of this newspaper.

From all of us here at The Oshawa Express, we wish you the happiest of holiday seasons, a very merry Christmas, and a happy new year.

See you all for our first issue of 2018, published on Jan. 3.