I was looking for photos to share our Albertan experience and searched on Pixabay for prairies and Alberta. I saw this bridge and thought to myself, “This looks like the bridge in Lethbridge!” I downloaded it and went to see the photographer. Sure enough… WOW he is from Lethbridge. And he has other photos too! So here is his link Don Taylor on Pixabay.
All the photos on this page are from Don Taylor. What beautiful photography!
The above photo is a bridge in Lethbridge AB. It so speaks of an Albertan spirit, building bridges to new ideas and places.
A landmark for locals and those that have visited the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Lethbridge Viaduct has greeted visitors to the city for over 110 years. This bridge is not only the longest but also the highest steel railway trestle bridge in the world reaching over 5,327 ft in length and 314 ft in height
Where others see abandonment, we see opportunity. That is the Alberta difference!
Mark and I have been working on a project to build a food supply. We have had such AMAZING support from people, from the community I cannot begin to tell you how deeply impacting it is, how special people really are! It looks like it may really take off maybe as soon as the end of January this year! (2022)
Projects are important because it gives me the opportunity to re frame how I am thinking and what I am seeing. I have had this understanding about what it means to live in Alberta for some time.
Perhaps I could speak of it as someone who lives on the prairies which includes Saskatchewan and Manitoba too. The prairies have a harsh climate. No two ways about it. No trees. Wind in some places. Arid in some places. And up north especially way up north, the trees are more like sticks, like shrubs really.
There have been so many people over the years who have said to me “You (Albertans} are lucky. You have oil.” I tell them no, it has nothing to do with oil. If all we had was hay, we’d create a market for hay! And I know people will say then, “You are lucky. You have all the land, the prairies. We do not.”
Opportunity comes disguised as hard work
Author unknown
What people on the prairies understand is that wealth is not what you own. It comes to you from hard work and finding opportunity where others see difficulty. I remember a quote on a public sign once. It said “Opportunity comes disguised as hard work.”
Rain Shamans. They are people that by being who they are, brings harmony and balance. The world bends to them. It is a kind of mastery. They have a message. Like Martin Luther King or Gandhi. The world yields to them. They have a vision. They have a way of living.
Above: You can see the snow, the empty landscape, the bridge over the coulee. This part of Alberta is windswept and arid. Yet we live here!
What am I seeing happen in Alberta? Communities are coming together and collectively engage in building something new. There is a renewal taking place.
During these Covid times it looks like we are being abandoned by the government. It looks like segregation and victimization. Albertans think differently. Where others see abandonment, we see opportunity, and a way forward. Because everything the government puts down and we pick up, the existing government becomes superfluous and we take back our lives.
Albertans make their world. Through hard work and vision, a new world is being born.
I wrote recently that Albertans are hard working, creative and proudly ‘red-neck’. By that I mean we are individualistic. Critical Thinkers. Resourceful. Proud of being a part of the land. We do not carry shame.
There are many new people in Alberta of recent years. You are not here by accident. Like attracts like and I welcome you all into our way of thinking. Welcome into our communities and welcome to our land during this Covid time where we as Canadians, as Albertans bring forward a new way of living and leave behind what does not work.
These photos truly represent the spirit of the people of the prairies. The worker hands… of course this is not exclusive to Alberta… but to get one’s hand’s dirty, one’s back bent beneath the sun, those things talk about not being afraid to get involved, to be committed., to put your back into something. There is a community value in that, a responsibility and a strong heart to help other people build a future.
I remember when I lived in Calgary and the balloons that went up in the park behind the house I rented. I always think of Calgary as the place of hot air balloons!
I had a dream once, where there was a valley and in the valley were hundreds of balloons all getting ready to become airborne. Some balloons were higher over head. Some were still a few feet off the ground. Some were still being filled with air. And the people were coming from the top into the valley. I understood the dream to mean that some people were already being seen. Some were still to come but that basically there would be a time of change and many would come to lead the way. I think that time is now and there are many who will lead us.
All the photos on this page are from Don Taylor. What beautiful photography!
The people of Alberta hold a vision and will change their world. No is no and with this resolve the world will yield. You are welcome here to bring this change of a better world. We honour you and your journey because just as we came here as pioneers seeking a new life, you too are pioneers into a world that lives beyond what is Covid. You want more. We want more. We honour hard work, responsibility and passion. Join us!
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