March Blog: Ukraine, Freedom and Appreciating Family history
A number of years ago, my wife and I commissioned a family history book. I feel we are blessed to live in an era and area that has historically unprecedented freedom: freedom from fear of persecution, freedom to pursue our dreams, even, despite COVID, freedom in the knowledge that if we get sick or injured, modern healthcare can likely enable us to recover health and ability.
My paternal ancestors came to Canada from Austria, to escape persecution. The book that we undertook has stories of their life in Austria, stories of escape and stories of their early days in new lands. Not all of the family made it to Canada or America, but many did and I wanted to document their stories for the generation that follows, my children and the children of my siblings and nieces and nephews who would not be able to hear the stories first hand. I wanted them to appreciate how fragile their freedoms are and how near (generationally or regionally) we came to losing them. The book is beautiful, worthy of a coffee table appearance, yet also sized to be able to read curled up in bed. So why share this? Well a couple reasons.
One is obviously that Ukraine is on our minds. Sadly I am not optimistic that there will be a good outcome. I also know, this is not a war that the people of Russia wanted. One member of our SierraSil® team comes from Russia, and it weighs heavily on her as she thinks about her family in her former home, and the Ukrainian victims of Putin's war. As she says. "It's not our war" and her family in Russia is being fed very misleading news. So when you pray for the Ukrainians around the world, and especially residents in their homeland, please also remember the ordinary Russian people, many (literally thousands) who have taken great personal risk to publicly protest the actions of Putin.
The second is that our March blog last year featured SierraSil co-founder, my dad, Peter Bentley, as he turned 91. Those of you who regularly read our monthly post will know that was his last birthday as he gave his last breath on September 6th. My dad was born in Vienna, Austria, but grew up from the age of 8 here in Vancouver. He remembered troops coming into the city of his birth in 1938. It was difficult for a young boy to understand. As an adult, he expressed his love for Canada, and the freedoms enabled by the sacrifice of so many, with a life sharing his talents of wisdom, time and yes, wealth with many worthy endeavors in our community.
So I want to encourage you, if you haven't done so already, to consider your roots and family who came before. May I encourage you to record stories as you can, to share them with family who follow. Most of us aren't great at sharing oral histories of our family. So recording them can be a thoughtful gift not only for your children, but also for the family members that you 'interview' to capture their stories. Okay, so one commercial here, for those you interview that have joint or muscle pain, please consider thanking them with a bottle of one of Joint Formula supplements or the Pain Relief Topical Spray!
Next month, as a sneak preview, I'll be interviewing Dr. Chis Honey MD about his new book, The Tenth Nerve. It's an engaging look into the world of neurosurgery, so if you pick up a copy and have a question that you would like me to pass onto Dr. Honey, please let me know.
PS: I was recently asked about SierraSil and radiation protection. Radiation can be a concern for frequent flyers and many others. Consumer Lab reports that Potassium iodide and potassium iodate can help protect the thyroid from the effects of radioactive iodine from the air, water, and foods https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/potassium-iodide-ki-and-potassium-iodate-kio3-radioprotective-agents/potassiumiodide/?j=2961745&sfmc_sub=43653150&l=529_HTML&u=30340487&mid=7276525&jb=7006&utm_medium=email&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_term=&utm_content=potassium_iodide_member_de_send In 2011 we commissioned a study to look at this. The study by KCK Synergise of London Ontario was not so tidily titled "Effect of SierraSil Hydrothermal Mineral Complex (HMC317) on [3H-Methyl] Thymidine Uptake in Human Liver (THLE-2), Human Normal Skin (NHEM) and Human Melanoma Skin Cells (A375)" The researches concluded that "the results of this in vitro assay it is possible to suggest that Hydrothermal Mineral Complex (HMC317) (which is SierraSil) may be beneficial in reducing the harmful effects of radiation in humans." If you would like a copy of this study, please email us at Info@SierraSil.com and kindly include 'Radiation study' in the subject line.