Loss Thought

What an interesting and powerful activity, if not profoundly depressing.

I have an understanding of the societal and communal loss when someone from the community who was a Native first language speaker passes on. I have seen the sadness and loss in those left behind when the person who held all that language and cultural knowledge ceases to be with us.

This is why I understand the immense beauty of a child being born and the power of creation, especially when a new born seems to possess the gifts or character of a loved one passed. For we are never quite whole again when a teacher/guider/loved one leaves us. We can only hope for something or someone to come along and fill that void.

The only source of solace that comes with the statistics of loss that have occurred in the last 500 years is the resurgence of birth and youth we are currently experiencing in First Nation communities. We have a duty to ensure they inherit a better place than what they came into, and in turn, they have a duty to keep alive the gifts and teachings of those that passed before them.

We can not expect our teachers and loved ones to live forever, but we can ensure that they live on in the stories and teachings we retell and remember forever.

Meaningful Place Activity

A response to this activity has proven to be rather difficult for me, as I feel that there really isn't a singular place that has added meaning or significance to me. I think, if anything, places of meaning for me have shifted over time as I have grown and aged and had different life experiences.

There is a distinct sense of history and memory that comes solely through visiting a place. Being there, in the physical space, offers a sense of meaning that has no substitute. It is why teachers of history find field trips to important sites have much more impact on the lessons learned.

I can think of places close to where I grew up in Orangeville that have particular meaning (Mono cliffs, 5th Line Bridge, Hockley Valley, The Bumpy Part of Town Outside of Town, Browns Farm playground, etc.) but I have no desire or strong calling to revisit those places. They hold memories of a time and place that I've since moved on from.

Then there are places that I continually visit (Ivor Wynne Stadium--until its demolition this year, Dokis First Nation, Niagara Falls, Montreal, etc.) that have their own stories and events dear to my heart, and given the passage of time, give cause for personal reflection on the person I was to the person I am now.

However, when thinking of a place that is special to me, the image that comes to mind is always my home. Where I live now. Where I wake up each morning to a new sunrise, snow on the trees or fresh buds on branches, with my family and dogs. The path in the bush, the creek running through, the stage of my life I'm currently living. The place where I got married, where my daughter was born, where I work and play. The most meaningful place happens to be my home, not so much for its physical nature (though I do love and appreciate those aspects), but more for the people and gifts that imbue my life each and every day.