A historic moment

Today, after lunch, my students and I crowded around the television set. The Prime Minister stood up in the House of Commons and apologized to all the aboriginal peoples in Canada for the residential schools and their long-lasting legacy on individuals, families, communities, and cultures through the generations.

The tears of men and women gathered across the country held the sting of an immense, immeasurable loss.

The circle of aboriginal leaders in the middle held an uncrushable sense of being deeper than self, of knowledge deeper than time, of emotions deeper than heart.

The reserved yet thunderous applause held the voice of all possibility – the possibility of hoping, dreaming, healing.

Outside, a songbird’s trills held the world and all its fragility and strength. The notes stretched skyward, rippling infinitely into the future. A leaf fell, and another unfurled from its bud, shouting “I am alive!” into the wind.