Thankful

The sun is shining today. I’m thankful for that and many other things. It has been an extraordinarily difficult year, for friends and family, for our communities, for the country, and for humanity.

I am thankful for frontline workers. The sacrifices they have made this year to keep the rest of us safe have been enormous. They deserve our respect and gratitude. They also deserve to be paid fair wages for their work.

I am thankful for essential workers. They worked right through the early months of the pandemic, a very frightening and difficult time when most Canadians were sheltering at home. They kept grocery stores and drug stores open, shelves stocked, cars fueled, and ensured we all had what we needed to get by. The pandemic shone a light on the work of people who are largely ignored and taken for granted. I hope it’s one of the lessons we will all remember and carry forward.

I am thankful for our local non-profit organizations and the thousands of volunteers who stepped up to care wherever caring was needed. Please honour the unpaid caregivers in your family, their work has been especially challenging this year and they need support and love.

I am thankful for all of the people who are putting their energy and efforts into fighting for climate action and climate justice. I am thankful for the Indigenous people and their allies that have put their lives on hold and bodies on the line to stop unnecessary pipelines that increase fracking, oil extraction and other destructive practices.

I am thankful for each person who is standing up to protect old growth forests, wild salmon, the Peace River valley, and every piece of the natural world that is under threat from insatiable demands for higher consumption, higher production and profits for the wealthy.

I am thankful for all of the people who are putting forward positive contributions to make our world a more just place, to create a circular economy, to eliminate waste, and to leave a livable planet for our children and grandchildren and their generation.

As I sit down to eat a lovely meal full of locally produced food I am thankful for the farmers who dedicate their energy to providing nutritious healthy food for our community.

I recognize how fortunate I am compared to people who are marginalized in our community, in our country and around the world. I am thankful to all of those who have stood with me in my quest to make the world a more just and equal place for all.