Another Hill To Climb - Facing Loss

"View from Kananaskis" --Picture by Judith Hirst-Joyeux

 

Nelson Mandela said, "After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb." This thought could be daunting! It means that one never is really finished all the things that need to be done. OR, perhaps more things that need to be done become created by the very act of climbing. What if everything really is just a bunch of hills and the idea of flat land is a hallucination? What if the hills are really mountains?

When driving or walking through the foothills areas in Alberta, one has to give unconditional gratitude to the people, our ancestors, for the courage to explore and settle a land so full of hills. What they faced after one hill, was another hill. Yet the top of the hill gives one so much hope! The view goes on for miles. Water, land, trees, mountains and a new destination are all visible. Climbing hills (any obstacle in our life) will give us the same view.

This last five days have been one of those "hills" and yes, it felt more like a mountain.  Early on July 31st, we received word that my Dad had been taken in to the hospital and would probably not last through the day.  From the time of the first call, two hours and some minutes passed when we received the second call, saying that he was gone.  My brothers are outside of Toronto, we are in Calgary, and a brother and sister live in Winnipeg, close to where my father lived.  The funeral was scheduled for Saturday, August 2, and we all had a day to get to the funeral home to have some private time and family time with Dad on Friday before he was cremated.  Packing and driving and calling family and friends made the time seem short.

Now, everything is over, and it seems that I finally realize what has happened.  I have lost one half of the duo that brought me in to this world.  A circle of life closed.  We honoured the man, now the ancestor, that taught us what he knew.  He taught us how to climb the mountains and the hills, and how to stop to enjoy the view.  I hope that Dad enjoys the view from up above!

Bright Blessings!

Judith