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Resilient!

Happy New Year everyone! I’ve noticed how this past Christmas and New Year has made some folks more sensitive to what is going on around them. They are experiencing, in different ways, the underlying essence of North Renfrew. They are more in tune with people, birds, animals and their surroundings. As they immerse themselves in walks and cross-country skiing, as they reconnect through writing letters and actually conversing on the phone with friends and family, they are reaping a rejuvenating awareness of nature, community and creation all around them. It is as if they are having an awakening, or an epiphany of the natural and metaphysical worlds here in North Renfrew. Now don’t get me wrong on this point. Folks still understand and are living the reality of the main news story of 2020, the pandemic. But after almost a year of masks and hand sanitiser, we have evolved into parsing out the positive side or unique opportunities during these strange times to carry on enjoying life. After all, the alternative to not enjoying life is just survival. While that is important it is dull, numbing and grey. In various respects, we are coming to realise what we really need to thrive and how we need to build up our community. In many ways, we have come to know that we are fragile and vulnerable but also, most importantly, extremely resilient. Vaccines are becoming available, but we can’t let our guard down against this virus. We are still in this situation for the long haul as it may be many months yet until everyone will have access to inoculation against Covid-19. We have done well regarding our ability to wait without agitation outside of Valumart and elsewhere. This admirable quality underscores the sentiment that patience is a virtue. Patience will be a hallmark of 2021 as we continue to wait to visit and hug our family and friends from whom we have been segregated for so long. Patience will be necessary as we work through this current lockdown and perhaps even another wave of the virus. It will be needed as we wait for vaccines to be made accessible on a widespread basis throughout North Renfrew. Patience and its cousins, kindness and compassion will continue to be valuable community expressions needed in the fledgling months of 2021. Choosing to remain patient and compassionate to both ourselves and others will bode well for all of us. So, carry on writing letters, conversing on the phone, skating outside and enjoying long walks. Be kind to yourself and others and remain steadfast with your patience. All the best to you and your families in 2021!

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