Dear Owen Sound ~

I could tell you all the things I love about you but this letter would be endless so I’ll just name a few …

The way your flowers colour our homes in reds, oranges, yellows, and purples; how lush you are with vibrant greens that whisper to us while we walk through your parks; and the bright blue sky that meets your bay as it dances under the hot yellow sun until the sky explodes into a whirlwind of sunset bliss. You make our lives so colourful, and that is only the start. 

 
You might be feeling a little like your colours have dulled recently. Maybe you received a hurtful letter. Maybe someone took something from your home as it blew in the peacefulness of the night breeze.

As a result, maybe you woke up with a little less colour in your home, and a little more defeat so I want to share something with you that has always been meaningful to me.

“Today in science we learned that you can never gain cold, you can only have an absence of heat; and it made me think that maybe hatred doesn’t exist, and there’s only an absence of love.”

It’s such a beautiful idea that makes so much sense to me. There is an absence of love. 

And when there’s an absence of love, that absence must turn inward.

The individuals who have been cheated out of a life of warmth must be turning cold.

Maybe they’re searching for warmth in the wrong places, and that absence of love leads them to act with coldness.

Maybe they seek love from people who lack warmth themselves.

Maybe they huddle together, seeking warmth but it’s gone and it causes them to act with that very absence of love.

And maybe you, yourself, have thought about responding with an absence of love, too.  

But what if your love makes a difference?

What if persistence in love warms just one other person?

And what if that person then passes their warmth to another?

What if your warmth is electric and it passes from person to person until it lights up the whole city? 

I can say unequivocally, the generation to come will wake up every day to a community knowing they belong.

They will no longer be fearful, they will not grow up spiteful, and they will see the city for what it is: their colourful, welcoming home. 

Owen Sound, you’ve been through a lot over the years.

It’s ok if some days you wake up too tired to be the source of love for your community.

It’s ok if you’ve exhausted all of your energy after endless conversations trying to educate others.

It’s ok if some days are reserved solely for preserving what warmth you have left.

Some days will be easier than others and some days you may need to lean on other sources of love. All of that is ok and yet, self love and allyship will be the light that leads to understanding. 

If you were targeted this month for being unapologetically yourself, I’m sorry.

If you were targeted this month for being an ally, I’m sorry. I’ve written to you today in the hope that I can shower you with love.

If you targeted someone this month, I’m sorry you have experienced an absence of love in your life.

My hope is that in time you will allow others to shower you with the love you too, deserve. There is still time for you to find understanding and warmth. This will ultimately lead you to more peace and happiness than the absence of love you have become accustomed to. 

Owen Sound, as the beautiful month of June comes to a close, I hope you know how loved you are.

I hope you know that your signs and flags have contributed to a source of love felt by many members of your community.

I want you to know how grateful I am for the way you have contributed your love and I hope you will continue to be reminded of the ways your love has made the world better. 

In the event that you once again find yourself faced with a situation absent of love, please know that the coldness is not about you.

Remember the ways in which your warmth has been a source of happiness for yourself and others.

Remember that their coldness has never and will never bring about happiness or fulfillment.

That coldness however, shouldn’t be feared. While it should be approached with caution, it could also be approached with compassion because their coldness has undoubtedly accumulated as a result of others failing to treat them with kindness, compassion or love. 

Your warmth is vibrant; you should hold onto it and continue to radiate it because it will always be stronger than any absence of warmth could ever be. 

Your Pride is beautiful, valued, and so very important. Thank you for sharing it.

I love you ~ Olivia