Captain Mark Eldridge ( RCN, retired )

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I find myself contemplating this message from a very strange place.  As we approach the turn of the year, I am conscious of what our experience of 2020 tells us about how much we can, and cannot, control in this complicated and interconnected world.  In the face of this reality, it feels awkward indeed to simply say “have a joyous Christmas season”, or “health and prosperity in 2021”; that’s for the folks at Hallmark.  

Perhaps the greatest lesson from 2020 is about how intricately interconnected we are; and how small oversights on the part of a few can quickly grow to become problematic for everyone.  As this isn’t our first such reality check, of course, can I voice the hope that perhaps we might learn the lesson this time?  And how surreal was it when we discovered who the really important people in our global lives are ... and how invisible they become when times are good.  Will you treat the cleaner, the delivery driver, or the grocery clerk with the same respect, empathy and grace 18 months from now?  I hope so ...

And we had evidence of the true good that is in most people, in the dramatic and world-wide response to the legacy of systemic racism. Let us not be blind to the fact that so many others still face repression, -isms and -phobias.  One of us will not change the world, but each of us can call out prejudice and ill-treatment when we see it.  Do not be that person who walked past inappropriate behaviour today, leaving it to become the new acceptable standard for tomorrow.

So, as we approach the solstice and the lengthening of days, I ask you to step back from the rush and noise to reflect on a year filled with both challenges and victories – yours, mine, the world’s.  Protests, epidemics, political ineptitude, malevolence and malfeasance will continue, and we will not fix things as fast as we wish we could, but if we all strive for “better” each day, we will surely change things in a positive direction.  We are all one world, one human race and, if we pull together, we can aspire to a future of racial equity and social justice, resiliency and promise, health and happiness.

Each day that you get up, show up and don’t give up, you forge positive beliefs in yourself and outcomes for your community.  I know that each and every one of you is deeply committed to the achievement of something greater, and that each of your contributions matter.  Thankyou for the enormous good that you do, and never let anyone tell you otherwise.

Do not forget 2020 as we leave it behind, but go forward enriched by what the trials and challenges of the past 365 days have taught us of ourselves and of each other.  Look after yourselves and each other, relax and recuperate; there is still much for us to do.  

Merry Christmas.

Mark

HERE we are, facing another pandemic Christmas, seemingly with little to make us feel hopeful merry, or bright.

But, let me challenge you with the alternative that, instead of following the gloomy predictions or negative opinions of others, we should look inside ourselves to find the hope and energy to keep moving ahead; for whatever sustaining embers of brightness we might find there. 

We are still alive (indeed most people are) because our concern for ourselves and for each other has seen most of the population vaccinated, and all of us wearing masks to protect each other ... that’s worth something. 

So too, the reality that governments and corporations have pivoted fairly successfully to provide alternative ways of work and alternative forms of income. Merrier it could have been, for sure, but millions did benefit.

Some of us have lost loved ones and friends over the last 12 months; while we are sad, certainly, that they are gone, nonetheless our memories of them are still warm and present with us. Their effects on us still shine brightly inside of us. 

So, where do we go from here? Shall we trudge wearily forward complaining about a host of things that we cannot (or will not) change? Or do we lead with our hearts, and face the future “us” buoyed by the memory that we did what we could and, in doing so, we made the world just a little merrier and brighter where we live. And might we perhaps imagine a world where 7 billion souls could find the will to do the same?

I know which path I’m going to take, and who I want around me. So take heart in everything that you have achieved, individually and collectively, through the past 12 months; know that at least one person’s life is better for what you’ve done, and that’s a worthy achievement. And dream, just a little bit, about what the world can and will be, as others take inspiration from you and from your actions. Merry Christmas everyone, and the very best for a merry, bright and hopeful 2022.

Mark Eldridge

Founder

Onyx Community Services

As we approach the Christmas season and the end of 2023, let us pause to consider the past 12 months. On the up-side, there were no lock-downs, compulsory masking or other pandemic-related interruptions to our lives, there were no earthquakes or tidal waves, Canadians have not seen any existential threats to our democracy, and the economy is fairly solid. Ottawa is still a pretty safe place to live, and, if we are careful, we can lead fairly decent lives. 

But there are many in our neighbourhoods, and around the world, whose lives are regularly disrupted, families broken and dreams shattered, often by threats beyond their control. Even though famine, plague, war and destruction are not immediately outside our own doors, we of ONYX are ever mindful of those who suffer, some in ways we cannot imagine.

Every life is worthy, and each one cut short is a loss to us all ... even if they pass unknown and un-celebrated. At ONYX we know this, and we feel the resultant obligations deeply; that all humans deserve to speak their own truth, worship as they see fit, and live free of want and of fear. As we look around ourselves, we know that this is a universal aspiration, but not a universal truth, and we work in our own ways to remedy what we can, where we are. What we do is worthy and good, but it can sometimes feel like we face overwhelming odds. For these times, I offer you this little rubric that I “borrowed” from another publication.

Please, always remember that there is only so much in your control, and amidst the vast number of things that matter, each of us can only do our part. Others must do theirs; we cannot.

Beyond this, I leave you with more borrowed words, this time from Desiderata:

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. 

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Mark Eldridge 

Founder

Onyx Community Services