Alberta Strong

June 20th 2013. A date Albertans will not soon forget. It will be forever remembered by Calgarian's as the day we awoke to find our city in a frenzy, lying beneath an outstretched river.

It’s rare for me to sit in front of a blank white computer screen and lose the battle of the unfailing flashing cursor. But today I am speechless. The battle has been lost. In these moments I trust only 2 things to adequately explain exactly how I feel: borrowed words from my favourite writer, and photographs of memories frozen in time. 

"There will be bad days. Be calm. Loosen your grip, opening each palm slowly. Now let go. Be confident. Know that now is only a moment, and that if today is as bad as it gets, understand that by tomorrow, today will have ended.Be gracious. Accept each extended hand offered, to pull you back from the somewhere you cannot escape. Be diligent. Scrape the gray sky clean. Realize every dark cloud is a smoke screen meant to blind us from the truth, and the truth is whether we see them or not - the sun and moon are still there and always there is light. Be forthright. Despite your instinct to say “it’s alright, I’m okay” - be honest. Say how you feel without fear or guilt, without remorse or complexity. Be lucid in your explanation, be sterling in your oppose. If you think for one second no one knows what you’ve been going through; be accepting of the fact that you are wrong, that the long drawn and heavy breaths of despair have at times been felt by everyone - that pain is part of the human condition and that alone makes you a legion. We hungry underdogs, we risers with dawn, we dissmisser’s of odds, we blesser’s of on –we will station ourselves to the calm." - Shane Koyczan

Listen to the full quote here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPU3t-x3Vz4
(Seriously, listen! I promise you won't regret it).

For my favourite city park - now submerged under water - a place that has always inspired and motivated me to strive for success in all my endeavors. You will never be quite the same. That's okay. Neither will we. Trust that we will rebuild you – so you can inspire our next generations to go fearlessly in search of new and unlimited success.

We are Alberta strong - we will carry on together.

Prince's Island Park - 03.2013

With faith, admiration & appreciation.

J.