It has been a heavy day in the land of the True North, strong and free. Today, a Nation laid to rest Fabrice Georges Gevaudan, Douglas James Larche and Dave Joseph Ross. Three RCMP officers who were killed as they selflessly and heroically kept us safe. I don’t imagine either one of these men began their shift believing it would be their last. However, I am certain they begin every shift knowing that their own death is a possibility. I cannot fathom that thought; knowingly putting yourself in harms way for the safety of others. I, for one, would never have the courage. I have admiration and respect for these remarkable individuals who put on their invisible capes and go to work. Every. Single. Day.

Death elicits such a response in each of us. A public tragedy intensifies these responses; we question our safety, our mortality and our beliefs. Lately, I have been on a roller coaster of emotions with humanity. On one end, I have been moved to tears as I witnessed the outpour of support, condolences and then united front many took today in wearing red. It softened the empathic ache in my heart. On the other end, I developed a bitterness and a frustration for the need for death and tragedy to bring us ‘together’. I mean, why wait? In my eyes, these people are heroes every day. Why is it that we wait until someone is killed before we truly acknowledge their daily service? Why is it we berate these individuals for our speeding tickets, publicly ridicule their professional judgement during situations we are not a part of, and constantly criticize their approach to policing? But, when it is white out conditions on the highways and we feel the need to ‘try them’, we don’t think twice of who it is coming to rescue us from our absentmindedness. We rarely recognize the trauma from permanent emotional wounds they are left with after notifying a parent that their child has been killed in a motor vehicle accident. Why are we so selectively united and only during tragedies?

With that, I am encouraging you each to stop, please just stop with the judgement. Start practicing gratitude to all those who make your world a little bit easier and contribute to what is the power of human kindness.

As I got to sleep tonight, my heart is very heavy thinking of the survivors of Fabrice Georges Gevaudan, Douglas James Larche and Dave Joseph Ross. Because from this moment forward, they are just that, survivors. I know that my normal has not changed, that my world resets tomorrow. For these families, their grief journey has just begun. They will wake tomorrow from what they hoped was a bad dream, to see pieces of their lives shattered and uncertain how to put them back together. They will have dark days that will overshadow any light moment. They will have moments that will be unbearable. People, this is grief. It is heavy. It is paralyzing. It demands to be felt. It is also transforming. We survive grief. But surviving means rebuilding our world and reshaping our new normal. For these families, they are only beginning this journey. This process, it takes time.

In the meantime Canada; be kind, be patient, be respectful. 

Heavy Hearted and Red Serge Proud,

Lise

xo.