Fleeing
to little towns for moments of fellowship
By
Michael J Morris
For
such a time as these past few days, Canadians surely did not ask or seek.
I
just returned to Cranbrook from Toronto, where one of my oldest and dearest
friends hosted a marvellous party attended by some folks I had not seen since
high school days, more than 50 years ago. What a joyous occasion it was.
As
I flew across this vast and magnificent land, over the mountains, across the
prairies to the forests of Ontario, into Toronto, which has been so much the
central place in my life, I once again recalled the words of Bruce Hutchison in
The Unknown Country. Little did I think during my travels that I would be
putting Mr. Hutchison's words into the context of tragedy in my country.
Mr.
Hutchison, who has Cranbrook roots, wrote in 1942, that "No one knows my country
...Who can know our loneliness on the immensity of prairie, in the dark forest
and on the windy sea rock? A few lights, a faint glow in our largest city on the
vast breast of the night and all around blackness and emptiness and silence. We
flee to little towns for moments of fellowship."
He
also posed the question: "Who but us can feel our fears and hopes and
passions?"
Indeed,
who but us? And given the tragedies of the past week with the attacks in Ottawa
and Quebec, Canadians from coast to coast to coast vented their fears and hopes
and passions as they tried to understand, to make sense of it all.
I
won't pretend to have the answers, but I do know one thing for sure: Be not
afraid.
As
Canadians, let us focus on the positive aspects of living in this still largely
unknown country and strive to fulfill our hopes and passions.
I
often think of my mother's family who arrived in Canada in 1913 to make a new
life for themselves. Not here long before my grandfather was badly burned in a
fire but he survived. Then it was World War I, then the Great Depression, then
World War II, and my father was killed on active service in the RCAF in 1943.
Through
it all, my family and I know that yours faced its challenges too, and, never,
ever let fear rule their lives.
Let
me leave you with two quotes to think about:
"Fear
is the only true enemy, born of ignorance and the parent of anger and hate."
Edward Albert
"The
enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear." Gandhi
As
difficult as it may be, let us focus on those things bringing us together rather
than dividing us. Let us certainly not be intimidated, but lead the way to the
"promised land" where our greatest hopes and passions will be fulfilled --
Canada!
We
are all children of the village in Canada and if need be, it is OK, even today
to "flee" for a moment to the little towns for fellowship as Mr. Hutchison
suggested in 1942. I just did, even though the small town was a home in
Toronto, and not Chapleau, the town where we were raised. My email is mj.morris@live.ca
Thanks so much to all who have been in touch with their comments. So much appreciated to hear from folks from across this vast and magnificent land.
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