Imagine THIS Canada

A series of stories, anecdotes and perspectives illustrating the visions and hopes for our diverse country. These reflections are intricately woven together by storyteller and poet Zarah Maria Willow, through her beautiful piece “Imagine This Land”

Imagine THIS Land  by Zarah Maria Willow

Our histories are powerful
As we are affected by the telling and retelling of a story
Yet power is not always akin to Truth
We should be wary,
Of words that are used often though are void of much action
Imagine instead, allowing the Truth that can be found in the compassion of the soil
In the abundance of the trees, in the depth of the valleys that echo,
In the purpose of the rivers as they carve themselves over stone
Imagine, reconnecting to the silent sound of life whirling on within us
The nature of that which is lived and cycled and sacred
Reflect on everything that has been made possible here

Imagine,
Acknowledging what the land has been made to endure
Forced to carry the secrets we’ve held, that are now buried and cold with a fiery rage
Offer thanks for its capacity to extend both forgiveness and grace
Imagine, how this land carries the immensity of the stories we’ve told
There is so much wisdom in the sounds and history of the Earth
Listen and hear how the winds can speak calmness into our hearts
And cause us to become billowed all in the same breath
There is so much wisdom to be known here
May we find the strength to humble ourselves and,
The faith to listen, to discover how we may reconnect to the soul.

Imagine, extending grace and understanding
to those brave enough to allow themselves to be seen
Drenched in their authenticityImagine, all of the ways that we are connected
If not by the rivers, that bleed through the land
Then by the complexity of the simplest things, such as our breath.
With every expansion of the chest
We may cultivate space for each of us to release love
Listen to how the Oceans cradle us
And hear how we may allow each other to be cared for
Without resistance or judgment
Hold space for stories that speak of courage and of pain,
Of love and of destructionOf healing and of death
There is space for us to acknowledge
All that the land and its children have been made to bare witness to
Sharing our stories is an act of kindness
But do not always rush to fill the space,
With our craving to feel heard
Remember, that the quality of listening a story receives
is just as significant as the tale being told
To receive, is truly to give
From our own well without expecting to be replenished
We are powerful in our choice to receive and to grow
There is power in the action of acceptance and the effortlessness of allowing
Empathy, perhaps, is the softness of the flowing river
Until it rushes in, as purposeful as waterfalls, almost in absolute silence
There is a collective responsibility to understand the true nature of life
In discovering the truths about who we are and where we have come from
And how we may continue to be embraced

Imagine, a deeply cultivated mindfulness
The space it requires to be present
Exists in the abundance of the land
It is at times challenging to imagine the vastness of ourselves
But we may come to understand it,
In the diversity and tenderness of the land
That stretches from far and wide
Which holds no boundary as,
It spills and rolls and dips into itself
Allowing us to sing and dance and rejoice in the crevice of its being
As we are nourished by the land,
What do we give? And still we are accepted
As this land, a living thing, recognizes itself in that which is breathed
As it is breathed,
By the veins of the rivers and the lungs of the trees and the heart of the Oceans

Imagine this land as it lays itself bare, unapologetically
As the rain pours and the Oceans thrash up against us
As the land remains present and
Unaffected by our perceptions of it
Imagine this land, how it teaches us of life
Of how things are often everything all at once
The more deeply we immerse ourselves in her reflection
The more clarity will come, as the sun rises, unaffected
We may come to understand ourselves
As the sun rises, so too rises another day for us to shine.
The land teaches us of our light
Even as the trees are rustled by the whistling of the winds and,
Their leaves all fade to colour, before falling to their knees
Painting a picture of the world almost completely at peace
As the solstice brings the life around us to rest
We are reminded that nothing is truly that separate or lasting
That in all of our stories,
This land is the only thing that’s always ever been
Allowing us to sing and dance, and love and rest
It is that very nature of allowing that we must begin to reflect
As the seasons pass and the land allows itself to let go again
So too should we allow the passing of our emotions.
As the cherry blossoms whisper softly under the smile of the crescent moon
Opening themselves as the frost melts again in the morning
They bloom mischievously only to be mourned as we are braced by the sun
That rises, unaffected.

Imagine, the privilege we hold
In being planted here
How we are overwhelmed by the beauty of it all
How gracefully this land includes us
As we cultivate our lives on fertile soilThis land is one of opportunity
As freedom flows in from the Atlantic
And washes up the rocks on the shore
Is it possible to be both grounded and drowned all at once?
I’ve wondered before,
If everyone feels like that at times,
Breathless.
How powerful it might be for each of us to have a chance
At catching our own breath
If we could stop for a moment and consider each other
in the simplest of ways, if we could match each other's rhythm.
How in that there might be pain, profoundly so
That catches us like the roaring winds of a storm
Then releases us by the wisdom of allowing
There is room for us to acknowledge those things that keep us up at night
We may find what frightens us most, is refusing to name our fears
There is enough light for us to shine,
it on those things that creep up from the darkness of the sea
And still there will remain space for us to cultivate joy
To recognize that life is, intimately as it is.
Welcoming us, to live just as we are.

There is a truth that exists in the experience of being uprooted
And then born again, someplace that reminds you
of how much you do not belong
Imagine how often we seem to forget,
That wherever we stand, we are planted once more
There is a feeling you carry,
When pieces of yourself are at rest in the Ocean
A feeling of being wade, somewhere on the edge of
And still the land embraces you, where water meets the shore
By the abundance of the soil, and the grace of the morning sun
You cultivate a new and,Plant the remains of old roots from which you once grew
There is a story buried in the lives of the diasporic
A history so deep and dark, so twisted and misconstrued
So woven with strength and love and despair
Though the waters continue to welcome us
And wash our bodies up like treasures from the Ocean’s floor
Blue and crimson and broken yellow sea glass
We come together to build a mosaic
Listen to us bloom and sing our song of resilience
Listen to us dance and heal as we stand to break the height of the waves
Crashing in, all around us.

This land is a symbol of hope
Of the courage it takes to open our hearts and to experience life as it is
Not simply how we have imagined it to be
Life exists in the simplest moments;
In the kindness we extend to our neighbours,
In finding what was once lost,
In the laughter between old friends and
In the patience of cultivating true self-love
We carry with us the wisdom of the land
That plants us all as equals, and waters us generously as we grow
Be kind to yourself and accept others as they are
Be inspired by those around you
Who ignite others with their light
Take the time to rest and to reflect
Hear the Truth that permeates the noise
Listen to us sing and dance and rejoice
And hear how we are loved
There is hope in our capacity to reconnect
to cultivate our communities,
through a reconceptualization of this land and of our relationship to it
To our own genuine authenticity and unique contribution to the cycle of life
For as long as the land offers us the mercy of regeneration
There remains hope for our capacity to heal and to do so collectively.