Our team has had an amazing year and has continued to grow in order to better preserve and grow your hard earned savings. If the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 have taught us one thing, it is how important it is to balance daily life, family commitments, mental/physical health, and the rigours of work.  We hope you and your families are getting back to your normal routines, travelling more and enjoying friends, family and the outdoors in a way that may have felt difficult just a year ago.  If you’re looking for an idea for a beach read, a show or movie for a rainy day, or a playlist or podcast for your drive to the cottage, here’s what’s keeping our team occupied in the “off hours” this summer.

 

Our Summer 2023 Reading List

Calvin

Last week I finished Sapiens by Yuval Harari. It is an epic recount of how our species has gone from small groups of hunter-gatherers 100,000 years ago to the present-day global network. In the book Harari dives into the history of language, religion, capitalism, the scientific revolution and more. In addition to Sapiens I am currently studying to complete Portfolio Management License which has kept me quite busy. I will be writing the exam in the fall, at which time I will have more book updates for everyone!

 

Marc

I just finished The Killing Time: Morant Rebellion Jamaica by Gas Heuman.  I remember reading this in University about the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and decided to pick it up this summer. It tells of the Morant Bay rebellion in post slavery Jamaica and the brutal suppression which led to the deaths of hundreds of men and women. The uprising I would argue led to the creation of the first hero in the English Speaking Caribbean, Paul Bogle. It is a great intersection of history, politics and culture.

 

Pete

I’m beginning to think COVID is rattling around in my subconscious a bit more than I’d like to admit as I’m absolutely loving Plagues Upon The Earth: Disease and The Course of Human History by American historian Kyle Harper.  It explores the impact that pathogens like viruses, bacteria, helminths and protozoa have played on the course of human history, and starts with the fascinating thesis that we, as humans, are just another conduit for the propagation of these ancient parasites who have been on the planet much longer than we have.  Did you know that three consecutive sets of plagues depleted the fighting age population and tax base of the Roman Empire, contributing to its decline and fall?  That the median bone length and bone mass of people living near railroad hubs in the U.S. in the 1800s and hence subject to waves of viral loads are materially shorter/weaker than those living only 20 miles away?  Fascinating, timely material.

 

Emily

I’m currently reading The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom and spiritual beliefs, the Four Agreements is a guidebook for life and offers simple advice in order to obtain personal freedom, happiness, and experience love in everyday. The four agreements are:

1. Be Impeccable With Your Word.  Speak with integrity and choose your words wisely before saying them aloud. Perpetuate kindness to yourself and others.
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally. Everyone is unique. Each person’s beliefs and actions are hence a projection of their own reality and have nothing to do with you. Be content with your own self image.
3. Don’t Make Assumptions.  Assumptions lead to suffering. Ask questions and communicate instead of making assumptions to avoid misunderstandings and negative emotions.
4. Always Do Your Best. Do your best to integrate the first three Agreements into daily life and live to your full potential.

Great lessons for a life well lived!

 

John

Coincidentally I just read The Four Agreements that Emily recommended as well! I highly recommend it to all.  I am now reading In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Mate. As put by The Walrus, " Excellent.. One of the books' strengths is Mate's detailed and compassionate characterization of the afflicted addicts he treats, but this is not just a memoir. Rather, using his own experience as well as the most advanced recent research, he attempts to delineate the closely interrelated psychological, social, and neurological dimensions of addiction... A calm, unjudging, compassionate attentiveness to what is happening within."  I couldn’t agree more.

 

Lorena
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. This might be my new favorite book.
When the main character, Nora, is on the brink of giving up, she finds herself transported to a magical library filled with books depicting various versions of her life story. The book explores themes of regret, self-discovery and the power of second chances.

 

Our Summer 2023 Playlist

Marc

Jesse Ryan-Bridges https://www.jesseryanmuzik.com/ is a Trinidad-born Toronto-based Saxophonist . I saw him perform earlier this summer and loved the smooth fusion of jazz and Caribbean flavours. This is great listening before bedtime.

 

Calvin

My Spotify playlist is usually filled with the most recent album of whomever’s concert I am going to next! So far this year I have gone to see Post Malone, Ed Sheeran, One Republic, Kid Cudi, Milky Chance and a few smaller bands playing across the city. One of my favorite parts of summer is getting out to see shows with friends. 

 

Pete

You all know I’m the nerdy one so it should surprise no one that my guilty pleasure is The Rest is History podcast featuring Tom “Not Spiderman” Holland and Dominick “Chipping Nottingham” Sandbrook.  Ok I made those two nicknames up but they spend an equal amount of time making fun of each other’s books that few have read, their mistaken identities, and their passion for fish and chips and bad reality TV as they do delving into the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, the evolution of the German chancellorship since the 1960s and Putin’s rise to power in Russia.  Fascinating, entertaining stuff. Give it a go.

 

Lorena
Speak Now (Taylor's Version) is my ultimate guilty pleasure and it's been playing non-stop on my Spotify this summer.

 

Our Summer 2023 Activity List

John

I am really enjoying my new Hip! I was operated on mid-May, and 6 weeks later was given the green light to do whatever I want with it. Golf, tennis, car rides, and sleeping are now very enjoyable, and pain free!  I am enjoying time with family in Toronto and cottage country.

 

Calvin

The summer seems to fly by. I can’t believe it’s already August! Transitioning into an Advisory role with the Greenwood White Group has kept me very busy throughout the week but my weekends have been filled with adventures. Saturdays and Sundays have been spent exploring all Toronto has to offer. Concerts, street festivals, Blue Jays games, pickup basketball and more! Occasionally my friends and I will head up north to get some much needed time on the lake and get the most out of the beautiful Canadian summers.

 

Marc

For All Mankind has been one of my top summer diversions for the past three years. It is an alternate view on history where the Russians were the first to the moon and the cold war still exist. This season there is a space race to be the first country to reach mars with a monkey wrench of an Elon Musk/Jeff Bezos type character trying to defeat the two countries.

 

Pete

Our daughter finished her first year of high school this year, and what better way to learn the critical life lessons on navigating high school drama and not making rookie mistakes imparted by Riggins, Landry, Coach, Tami, Saracen, Tyra, Lyla and Smash’s mom than re-watching Friday Night Lights with her which we first enjoyed when she was just a swaddled infant in our arms.  Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.  I’m not crying, you’re crying.

 

Emily

When I’m not chasing around two active young kids, I’ve been watching The Extraordinary Attorney Woo on Netflix. This Korean drama focuses on Woo Young-Woo, who is an attorney with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The recent rise in representation is important and it’s refreshing to see a female with ASD as the main character. This show is rumoured to be getting a U.S. remake, following the footsteps of The Good Doctor – I’ll be interested on how this subject is viewed through a different cultural lens.

 

Lorena

I've been lounging by the lake, exploring hikes with my dog, and venturing out to new restaurants around town. I've also been watching Your Honor starring Bryan Cranston on Crave. The show is about a judge forced to confront his convictions when his son is involved in a hit-and-run that embroils an organized crime family.

 

 

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The Greenwood white Group is an Investment Advisor with CIBC Wood Gundy in Toronto. The views of the Greenwood White group do not necessarily reflect those of CIBC World Markets Inc.