Given the craziness of the past few days for our friends south of the border and how the election may affect the world in general, this Remembrance Day feels a bit more sacred to me.

My country feels peaceful at the moment.  It makes me truly thankful for all we have in Canada. It also makes me think of those who sacrificed so much so that we could live in peace (and yes, I realize as I write that I want to qualify the word peace, but this moment I feel peace so that’s what I’m going with). 

The beauty of remembering and retelling the stories of the sacrifices that brave men and women in our country have made, is that if we allow it to penetrate our hearts, it can move us to increase perseverance and promote generosity.

We persevere in spite of hate and war because we know that humanity is worth fighting for. And we can now promote generosity because with gratitude we can acknowledge that someone else gave up something for me and it is our turn, in our way, to pay it forward. 

poppy

In the years of the war
Brave men left to fight
For the lives of others
For the human right.
They all left their families
And marched through the door
To act for their country
To be in the war.
They fought for then
And they fought for us now
Most of them died
Though it’s a wonder how.
Because they did all for the benefit
Of our country today.
So on November 11th
Our remembrance we pay.

~Anonymous