Gente que Cuenta

The Bridge,
by Leonor Henríquez

thanksgiving Atril.press e1729117067149
“My grandchildren, Tomás and Natalia took note and proceeded to execute this idea…”

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On October 14th we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving.

After the festivities, I headed to the bridge near my house with a mission.

A cosmic mission.

To give some context, our “Thanksgiving” is very different in its origins from that of the United States. It is a day of giving thanks to God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed.

But returning to my important mission, I confess that it was inspired by an unusual source, a children’s cartoon called “Daniel Tiger”, a friendly little tiger that in each episode leaves us with a lesson.

My grandchildren Tomás and Natalia took note and proceeded to execute this idea.

It is the “Thanksgiving Tree”.

We drew the trunk of a willow on a large piece of cardboard and collected autumn leaves in the park.

The activity for Thanksgiving would consist of each guest writing messages of thanks on the leaves and thus populating the tree.

I must say that the task was very well received.

Our tree looked lush and full.

To complete our work, the leaves were to be offered to the universe by throwing them into the river, hence the term “cosmic mission.”

I arrived at the bridge with a bag full of “thanks,” for family, health, home, puppies, friends, love, someone wrote “for living in Calgary,” I certify it.

I waited for no one to come and threw the shower of crunchy, yellow leaves into the river.

A winged thought crossed my mind.

I told myself, in this world where greed and the lust for power are rampant, I believe that empathy, compassion and gratitude are the real bridge that leads to true abundance.

At that moment, a flock of geese flew very close to my head.

It reminded me of a solemn moment, almost eight years ago when in this same place we scattered the ashes of my beloved.

There is a reason this bridge is for me the place where time and eternity meet.

The leaves were lost in a serene light.

www.atril .press Leonor Henríquez e1670869356570

Leonor Henríquez (Caracas, Venezuela) Civil Engineer by training (UCAB 1985), writer and apprentice poet by vocation. From her time in engineering emerged her Office Stories (1997), another way of seeing the corporate world. Her latest publications include reflections on grief, Hopecrumbs (2020) (www.hopecrumbs.com) and “The Adventures of Chispita” (2021) (www.chispita.ca) an allegory of life inside Mom’s belly.
Today she shares her “impulsive meditations” from Calgary, Canada, where she lives.
leonorcanada@gmail.com

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