The Weather Of Spirit

Dear you,

Finally spring is here in Toronto.

Alison at Vancouver Island posted a stream of blooming flowers on her Instagram feeds and she texted me: Hope things are warming up in Toronto. With a photo of hot pink azalea.

The past winter has been brutal as far as I concern. It was very cold, super windy and the worst was we would see no sunshine for a long period of time. If I am not wrong, one week we did not have a single hour of sunshine and I was down.

So at least now we have sunshine, cold but with sunshine. It really brights up my spirit.

Maybe it was my fault but I really could not recall hearing or seeing cardinal birds about 3 or 4 years ago, and now I can hear them almost everyday. They sing not just beautifully but super cheerfully. Again, with the sunshine, their songs bright up my spirit.

To be honest, business has been very challenging since last October. I thought I did something wrong and was very upset about our poor sales. During the trade show, I talked to some of my friends and some fellow exhibitors about their business and what they thought about the market now and near future.

When I talked to my husband about my concerns and fears, he normally told me: Stop being negative.

And I love what he said: “Truth - more precisely, an accurate understanding of reality - is the essential foundation for producing good outcomes.”

Based on BBC's report on Feb 28, 2019, US economic growth continues to slow. Canadian Press reported on Mar. 1, 2019 that Canada posts weakest quarterly economic growth since mid-2016. The forecast for the US dollar and Canadian dollar exchange rate for the coming six months worries me even more. As we design our products and have them made over sea since 2001, we have always traded in US dollar. The weaker the Canadian dollar, the harder it is for us to maintain a reasonable profit margin.

Just like seasons change, the economy has its circles. I watched How The Economic Machine Works by Ray Dalio on Youtube and tried to prepare for the weather coming my way.

I still have some stress but I am quit happy because the sunshine and also knowing my concerns were not negative and unnecessary. Facing the reality actually cheer me up: there will be winters like it or not, but after the winter, we will embrace a beautiful spring.