Lest We Forget
Published on November 11, 2014
Today marks a day that should be the pinnacle of gratitude and the benchmark to weigh our challenges against. This is a day of recognition and remembrance. At ceremonies across this country veterans will gather with their families, small children, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and friends to solemnly recall the incredible sacrifice; marking the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Prayers will be offered for those young lives cut short. The guns will roar in defiance of tyranny. Tears will be shed and we will all be asked to contemplate the incredible courage and sacrifice that was made for us all. November 11th will always remain an incredibly important day to reflect and to feel gratitude and humility. Not because we have experience with war, but because we don't. We will all attempt to understand what it was like to cast off from the shores of this safe land. To look into the eyes of loved ones not knowing if it would be the final glance. To be thrown willingly into harms way in defense of this. Freedom. That word marks the birth of gratitude itself. In our brief history as a nation the story of tragedy came home for some 117,000 Canadian lives that were lost in defense of that word. It's hard to comprehend that so many young lives given for our freedom never had the chance to marry, raise a family, fall in love, create a legacy or even just simply experience life. The truth is that every time the outreaching hand of horror of those looking to cast us and the world into bondage, the youngest and bravest men and women of this nation rose to beat back evil and preserve our freedom. If you look closely at the pictures of the soldiers sent off to war over the decades, you will look into the eyes of those barely bridging the gap between child and adult. When called upon it was our children that summoned courage beyond measure, offered sacrifice that transcended common valor. Quite simply these incredible souls went off and saved the world. The debt of gratitude will never be paid. For that we owe them homage every day. In Flanders Fields the poppies grow................Lest we forget.
Be well,
Randy Taylor
