“Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness: Only Light Can Do That” – Martin Luther King Jr.

In a week where terrorism visited Canadian soil, forcing Canadians to question their safety perhaps for the first time, Martin Luther’s quote stands out as a challenge to all of us: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

Yesterday, as I visited Writing On Stone Provincial Park in the deep south of Alberta, I wandered the spectacular Milk River valley, walking silently amongst the towering sandstone hoodoos, contemplation almost forced upon me by the sheer magnitude of my surroundings. I found myself thinking about many things, among them the week’s events and just how small I felt way out on the vast Alberta prairie. You can see by my photo above that Writing On Stone Provincial Park is a feast for the eyes and on this day, when I felt very much alone with my thoughts, I found that I was not. Two other hikers had joined me, also quiet. My camera caught them just after they were sitting on the edge of a hoodoo, looking out on the beautiful Milk River valley. I too found a place to sit, dangling my feet over a ledge, breathing in the brisk, autumn air. I was stunned by the sheer immense beauty of this sacred place. It is no wonder that The Blackfoot believed the towering hoodoos to be home of powerful spirits when they wrote their history on its sandstone over 8000 years ago. This was to be a place where peace was protected, untouched by human turmoil. I guess I was looking for a peaceful place yesterday, a place to rest my soul and remember how lucky we are to live in a country where peace is protected, at all costs.

Lest we forget.