Remembering...

Our small connection.

Today, in Canada, we mark Remembrance Day. Between my son and I, we share two Canadian Forces decorations. Mine is a Special Service Medal, awarded for a NATO posting in Germany in the two years leading up to the end of the Cold War. It was, as they say, a "plum" posting for a padre. My son's is a South-West Asia Service Medal. As a member of the PPCLI, he earned it under infinitely more difficult circumstances, operating out of a remote and desolate Forward Operating Base in southern Afghanistan.

This is but a small connection our family has to the price of freedom that so many have paid over the years. It is so easy to take what we have in this marvellous country for granted. We come and go freely, believe whatever we want, practice any faith we wish or none at all. We have a voice in the government of our country and a system, imperfect as it is, that honours the sanctity of life and the right to pursue individual and personal destinies.

There has been a cost, a cost that we know all too well. And it has been borne on all "sides". As we stood in the rain, this morning, by the cenotaph, we remembered all of this and how precious life is, for all of us. One day, perhaps, we will find a way to live in peace with one another. We must, in any event, never give up on the idea.

May one day, peace be with all people everywhere.

Duncan.

A sweet, gentle day to be on the water...and exhilaration!

On the beach at Maple Bay.

It was soooo good to be back on the water today and it was a sweet, gentle day. The air temperature was a balmy 8 degrees under overcast skies...and not a breath of wind. Usually we prefer some "bumps and lumps" but today, well, it was just kind of special. Maple Bay, across the channel from Saltspring Island, is one of our favourite launch spots, it's just five minutes from home and you can paddle "forever" in the fjord-like Sansum Narrows.

Crossing the Narrows to Saltspring.

Paddling in the late fall and winter can be very special here. The water is clear, the seals are curious, the shore birds are relaxed, the starfish seem extra big and colourful, the fragrance of the sea and of the forests blend to produce the most gorgeous of perfumes. Although this time of the year can be wildly stormy with winds and waves, today was an incredibly gentle day.

At high tide, these two "pillars" are mostly underwater.

Most of us need days like this every now and again. Gentle days that provide respite and the opportunity to rebuild our strength and our composure. They allow us to focus and to be mindful. On these days, there are no battles to be fought, no world demanding our involvement and our finite energies. We all need time apart, time to "cross to the other side" of the channel, time to find new perspectives and fresh sources of meaning. There, we can breathe deeply and slowly, knowing that we have the time...it is ours.

A world of reflections.

The gentle days give us the opportunity to come to know ourselves better, for it is in the quiet that we are most often able to hear the small, still voice deep within. It is a voice that engages us with our hopes and our dreams. It needs to be heard, without distraction, every now and again. 

Energized, once again.

And then...when you feel your strength returning, you engage your core, you paddle hard, you revel in the quick cadence, you feel the relative wind on your face, and you experience...exhilaration.


May you too, find those sweet, gentle days.


Duncan.