I know that gratitude belongs, and it always does. If we live with gratitude and connection to whom we are, everything, even when we have been deeply wounded, can begin to be profitable. We discover possibilities for growth. Growth is profit.
Therefore when we are hurt and need to move into survival mode to remain alive may we remember to return to gratitude and connection so that we can begin to heal and grow optimally again. This is the message of my heart every year on Canada Day because this day is a representation of the complexity of suffering mixed with gratitude which allows us to thrive as we move through the world. As the descendant of formerly enslaved people who struggle to find a way to be free and resilient in a world which is still wrestling with hierarchy and oppression—I see you. I see us. I see possibility.

Life is complex. When we experience pain our attention moves to what causes pain so that we can survive. Depending on the severity of the injury we forget about everything else to focus either on saving our lives or fighting for our ability to function well. Our vision narrows to focus on the thing that we must survive. Our system pauses all functions that are not essential to survival.

Focused on survival we forget joy. We forget gratitude. We even forget the need for nourishment. That is natural. That is right. Without this we would not continue to exist so that we could have the opportunity to heal and grow later.

Today is Canada Day. For many generations we have been focused on survival as a nation of settlers and Indigenous People, whom settlers attempted to dominate and force to assimilate to settler ideology after The People welcomed settlers to this land. Settlers may have forgotten, as it seems we typically tend to forget, that when we harm others we harm ourselves, because at the core we are one. So we all hurt.

Therefore what was done did not only hurt those who were oppressed. They struggled to survive with the excruciating pain of attempted erasure. And all who witnessed the pain, caused it, or lived in a nation affected by that pain suffered the loss of innocence which ruptured the connection that would have made this nation stronger as people working as equals together.

What we may not realize is that everyone who witnesses injustice lives with ruptured innocence, for life will never return to what it would have been without the experience of the resulting pain. Shattered, it cannot be what it once was. And yet with accountability for injustice, we make the space to create something restored. Something stronger can be constructed which will stand as a monument to the recognition that justice and integrity are pillars of a nation’s fullest prosperity—where optimum profitability hinges on the lived experience of each person’s autonomy and agency.

As a nation, Canada has moved past pretending that our complex history is not real. We began to face this truth together. Yes, some still pretend that there was no harm or that we are fully healed. And as a nation we cannot allow ourselves to be pulled back into pretence. We will be stuck in survival or inability mode if we do that.

With the vision of possibility in mind, I encourage us to keep moving forward, Canada. And while we move forward may we remember to go back to gratitude for everything that is wonderful about us. May we together grieve what was lost, and may we return to joy. Together.

So much is possible if we can do this. Living in Chilliwack for the last two years has given me the opportunity to experience the nation moving forward together with the joy and the struggle that is a part of the process. This community lives with extraordinary hope and intention towards the profit to be gained from togetherness when we embrace belonging and freedom as the birthright of everyone who calls this place home. I don’t take that lightly because I am keenly aware that whether we are Indigenous Peoples, settlers, or newcomers we had to choose to wrestle with the past to arrive in the present with hope for a prosperous future together.

It seems that we have recognized that a journey towards freedom and togetherness must hold space for both restoration and transformation. And these processes take time. Observe anything healing and that truth becomes clear. Observe a butterfly in each stage of its development and it becomes clear that each stage of development plays a role in the final emergence of the butterfly. I believe in us. I believe that we can move through both restoration and transformation to become a nation united and profitable together. However, as my parents reminded us in our family pledge we must all choose to do this with intention, determination, and practice.

Mommy and Daddy brought this idea to us: Effective family life does not just happen. It is the result of deliberate intention, determination and practice. And I pledge with God’s help to do my part to make this family life effective.

That was neither a short-term goal nor an easy process. But they had faith in our ability to make their vision of our wholeness a reality. I still believe in that possibility for myself, for our family, for our nation, for the world.

I love you neighbours, and I also know that to reach the goal of wholeness we need to keep acceptance, accountability, forgiveness and openness as essential pillars of the process.

What the f*ck are we waiting for, man? Forgive each other already and let’s do this. 🫣I’m eager 🤩 and I’m also determined to continue to learn to be patient. 🥰

Oh Canada, the home in which we stand, moving courageously through pain and fear to belonging and wholeness. Happy Canada Day. I’m grateful that we moved from Dominion Day to Canada Day. That showed intention. Let’s keep building forward together.