Tag Archives: Karmel Sakran

Scotch Fridays – Tune in to the Podcast

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Scotch Fridays formed its roots many years ago when our law firm shared office space with Nancy, a brilliant friend of mine. The Scotch Friday tradition evolved in those long ago days when Nancy would saunter over to my office on Fridays, just before the end of the day, and stand at my door and we would share stories about our week. They were more like rants but we enjoyed those afternoons tremendously, and sharing a little scotch was a bonus.

However, my love for story telling goes back to my childhood with my very large extended family and my elders sharing stories about the past. I always liked to listen and ask questions and know more of the details as if I was there with them experiencing it for the first time.

My love of storytelling continued to grow while working with my father in the grocery store in Burlington. "Ontario Variety", as it was known then and now, was a gathering point, a nucleus for the community, before Sunday shopping and the proliferation of grocery stores and 24 hour shopping. It was during simpler times when everyone knew each other and trusted to send their children with notes to go to the local grocer. My dad had the pulse on the community and if you wanted to know anything about what was going on, all you had to do was ask "Norm", my dad. I grew into the same role as my father, the ability to speak with people with ease, to know them and to know their story. Did I mention my dad loved Scotch?

I simply took my love of Scotch and love of Friday rants with Nancy and "voila" - Scotch Friday podcast it is.

I do this because I enjoy speaking with people. I have been criticized for asking too many questions. It's true. I do like to ask a lot of questions, and sometimes, I think "why not?" Let's get to know the person behind their enterprise, behind their title, behind their status, and behind their public persona and let's know their story of how they got to where they're at now and their views on the things that matter to us.

My love for conversation tells me that we are all part of the same fabric. And, I like to think of myself as finding the pattern and the stitch that connects us all. That's Scotch Fridays!

Tune in every Friday afternoon to scotchfridays.ca and listen to stories that matter and entertain you. It’s a great way to start your weekend.

Happy Listening.

Karmel Sakran, managing partner of the law firm of GREEN GERMANN SAKRAN »

Why I Run

Many have asked me why I run.
Or, they say “you’re a big guy, how can you run?”

Karmel Sakran

I don’t enjoy the pain. I certainly don’t enjoy cold dark mornings. I would much rather remain cozy under the covers.

Running is not easy. Running is hard. I started running by walking, and adding in some running steps. Over time, the walking steps decreased and the running steps increased.

Over a one-week period, I will run 3 times – usually 10 kms on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then a longer run on Saturday or Sunday, whichever day has nicer weather. Yes, I am a fair-weather runner. I hate the freezing cold even though I do it when I have to. The other days, I will do some other form of exercise with one day off.

My other forms of exercise are weight training to strengthen my upper body and lower back, push-ups, burpees (which I hate the most) and isometric exercises like planks and even yoga – all intended to help me strengthen my ability to hold my upper body upright for longer and longer distances. But, running has always been my preferred choice of exercise and all other forms of exercise are intended to complement and further my running ability.

So, why do I run?

Like most people, I want to carve out time in my day that is just for me. No distractions. No cell phone or email message beeps. No abrupt interruptions from co-workers asking “you got a minute?”  Of course I have a minute. We all have minutes that are eaten up by daily rituals of doing something for others – all day long – and now – right now – as I run – there is no cell phone – no interruptions whatsoever.

As I run, I tune into my energy level, my posture, my breathing, my joints, my muscles, and my hydration and nutrition. As I run, I focus on all these aspects and I strive to create harmony between them – a balance between wanting to finish and finish well.

Health is a consequence of my running and running is a consequence of my health. Without one, you can’t have the other. Running helps control my weight and drives me to remain focused on good nutrition.

I feel rather naughty telling you that I get a “high” from running. All runners know exactly what I mean. You run the first little part and struggle as you get your pace and breathing under control and work out the kinks in your muscles until you get to the point when you feel unstoppable and free. Like you can go on forever. When you wish it did not have to end. It’s called the “runners high” and results from your body releasing a magical mysterious drug that can never be regulated or outlawed from the Olympics – Endorphins!

A google search tells us that:

Endorphins are among the brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters, which function to transmit electrical signals within the nervous system. … Endorphins interact with the opiate receptors in the brain to reduce our perception of pain and act similarly to drugs such as morphine and codeine.

Wow! Our body is so amazing that it can alleviate pain naturally and it’s free!

Running is the satisfaction of knowing that “I did it”. That I ran the distance and ran it well. That I challenged myself and my limits. That I took my body on a journey and came out the other end feeling exhausted and elated at the same time.

Running is my peace. In the truest sense, running is “my time”. It is pure and simple. For that 1 or 2 or 3 hours, you will not get my attention. My mind does not care for the latest news blast, weather report or the latest political gaff – I just don’t care. I let myself go into a solitude existence – deep in my thoughts. The only thing I am concentrating on is my breath and every fibre in my body as my feet rush beneath me. I feel the wind on my face. I see people and cars and hear noise all around me but in some strange way, there is no noise and all that I see is a blur. So, don’t honk or waive at me. I will not hear you. I will not see you.

Some say this is selfish of me. And I ask “what is wrong with being selfish for the right reason”? To clear my head. To focus and put things into perspective. To re-connect with my breath and body. To re-energize my soul. What is wrong with all of this?

If I am not clear-headed, focused or fresh in my mind, then how can I be as positively engaged with my clients, my co-workers, and, most importantly, with those I love?

So don’t ask me why I run, just come run with me!

Karmel Sakran, Burlington Lawyer »

Spirituality on the Go Train

Spirituality on the Go Train

On Monday morning, I walked into my office and found a cover letter and article addressed to me from a long-time dear acquaintance and client, Rev. Maureen (“Moe”) Anderson.  Moe’s letter captivated me – she describes her role as a Spiritual Caregiver and how she recently had the experience of saving a man’s life on the Go Train. With Moe’s consent, I have posted her letter to me and her fascinating article ‘Spirituality on the Go Train’ – I will let them speak for themselves.

~ Enjoy!

CASC/ACSS
Canadian Association for Spiritual Care / Associationcanadienne de soins spirituels

June 4, 2016

Dear Karmel,

I hope that this letter finds you well!

As you know, I’m always crazy busy and into a variety of projects. I’m writing to you in my capacity as Co-chair for the National Convention of the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care to be held at Deerhurst Resort in April of 2018.

The Canadian Association for Spiritual Care is a National multi-faith organization committed to the professional education, certification, and support of people involved in spiritual care, counselling, education, and research. We provide education programs for people who are preparing to become professional providers of Spiritual Care in a variety of institutional and community settings.

I agreed to co-chair this committee because I know that this annual convention is a lifeline for the people who work across the country, many of whom work as the sole person in their institutions facing traumatic situations every day. I am one of the lucky ones. While I attend to several deaths a day and many distraught family members, I have a team of spiritual care professionals at the University Health Network. The vast majority of my colleagues do not have that kind of support within their workplaces and so it is my passion to try and make this convention as accessible as I can by soliciting support from generous community donors.

Rev. Moe Anderson Spiritual Care Professional Co-Chair
Canadian Association for Spiritual Care National Conference

P.S. I thought that you might enjoy reading one of my blogs where I helped save a man’s life!

Spirituality on the Go Train

You would think that someone from Spiritual Care would not have trouble answering the questions, “How do you work spiritually at work?” when the Wellness Coordinator asks, however, I was stumped until the Friday night GO train ride home.

For those of you that regularly ride the GO train, you know that it is a bit of a strange environment. You can ride with the same people for many years and never actually meet them. At the end of the day, the cultural norm on the top deck of the train is quiet and silence but the alarm went for “Code 1033,” the code for a medical emergency and this time the emergency was in my car. I went down to investigate and a man had collapsed on the floor, not breathing, rapidly turning blue. Someone had started CPR and I took over compression as she tired. Others arrived as well. I heard the GO train personnel inquire who everyone was and it turns out we had someone from palliative care, someone who delivers babies, a dermatologist and me, a spiritual care provider.

I thought of all those family meetings where it was unknown what time the patient collapsed and how long he had been down for, so I looked at my watch. The time was 4:23. A minute into compressions and I was tiring already. How did I not know how tiring CPR was? I had watched the ICU team do CPR for hours, switching off every few minutes, never realizing how hard the work was and being reminded in the moment how important teamwork is. We began to switch off between trying to find a pulse and doing chest compressions. He was turning that awful colour between life and death. Someone found a defibrillator and the baby doctor prepared to deliver a shock as she ripped open his shirt at 4:26. We heard her say “clear” and then he jumped underneath us. I heard the palliative doctor ask someone to find his name in his wallet and she began to talk to the patient. Talking to a dying patient is usually my job, but today, I heard someone else giving the spiritual care while we continued chest compressions stopping periodically so the palliative doctor could see if his heart was beating. Suddenly he began to breathe. A cheer went up and we turned him on his side but the victory was only short lived. He stopped breathing again and we rolled him back to continue CPR. At 4:29 we gave him a second shock. In that second moment when we called “clear,” I looked up and I saw the faces of the people that I normally speak to- scared, overwhelmed by what they were seeing, panicked but I couldn’t provide the spiritual care it was someone else’s job to offer comfort and support. I placed my hands on his chest taking my turn at compressions from the dermatologist and this time I felt his heart punch back at my hands and beat to life again, like when I was pregnant and I felt the baby kick from within. It was like his soul was letting me know he was still there. The doctors confirmed he had pulses, stronger pulses this time. Rolling him onto his side again it was 4:34. His colour returned, his eyes fluttered open. Oxygen arrived from somewhere and paramedics arrived on scene just as he was waking up. There was a sense of exhilaration that together we had saved this man’s life- the woman who went running through the train looking for doctors and found the strange collection of people to help, the person who donated her scissors to cut open his shirt, those of us that pounded on his chest and shouted in his ear to keep breathing, those that held elevators and doorways, went running for the defibrillator or just silently prayed- together- a crazy team that journeyed together differently today.

As I reflected on the events, I realized that in many ways the hospital is a strange collection of strangers, a collection of people journeying together, never knowing what the day will bring.

I realized that being in rounds and family meetings had made me the accidental student as I heard over and over again what made the difference at the beginning of a cardiac arrest to the final outcome. We must all be accidental students in our journey together, always learning from one another. Today, I reflected on all the people that I watch day in and day out using their hands to work to save a patient. How differently it felt to put my hands on a patient for medical treatment than to hold a hand to comfort. How lost for words I am to describe the feeling of seeing another human being shocked and pounded back to life and to have been a small part of that.

Today as we journey together, I’m reminded once again of the precious commodity of time that is given to each one of us to make each moment count. After he was taken away by EMS a woman, in tears, explained, that the man collapsed after seeing her struggling up the stairs with her suitcase feeling panicked at being caught in rush hour. Seeing her struggle, he carried her suitcase up to the platform. She worried that the act of kindness may have cost him his life- perhaps it saved him because it put him in just the right place. I am more deeply aware that we are strange strangers on a journey but we don’t have to be estranged from one another, especially in crisis.

So today as I think about what Monday will bring I hope that I can live in deeper spiritual appreciation and with deeper reverence and awe for all those who place their hands on their fellow sojourners in care. I hope that I can live with heightened awareness and hope for the strangers and companions that are all around. I hope that I can see with more compassion the struggles that each person carries in their work. In the end, to work spiritually is to remember that we journey together.


In the end, to work spiritually is to remember that we journey together.

Lawyer Karmel Sakran
Karmel Sakran, Lawyer »

Burlington, Hamilton, Milton, Mississauga, Guelph