It’s a long weekend and I am excited. Very, very excited. I have big, big plans.

Tomorrow I’m going to a birthday party. It’s going to be huge. Tens of thousands of people have been invited and most of them will show up.

It’s going to be great, I can hardly wait.

You see, tomorrow is Canada’s birthday and all around this magnificent country hundreds of thousands of us are going to go out to celebrate how blessed we are to live in the greatest country on this planet.

So in preparation for tomorrow’s celebration I bought Canada a birthday card and I would like to share with you what I have written on the inside.

“Dear Canada,

Thirty-five years ago you opened your doors to me and invited me into your house. I did not realize at the time what a gracious and magnificent gift you were bestowing upon me.

In the time since then you have given much to me as, indeed you give to all your citizens.

So I made a list of three of the many gifts you have given me so that I can express to you my undying thanks for welcoming into your home.

You have given us the gift of freedom. This is something so magnificent that only those who have lived in its absence can truly appreciate the wonders of its presence.

With this inspiring gift all of us are free to communicate anything we want. Why, we can even be critical of you, and we can do so with the full knowledge that you have granted us the right to do so without fear of recrimination or reprisal.

For those who have known nothing but freedom, this may seem trivial. For the billions of people around the planet who know that the wrong words uttered will lead to unimaginable horror, this freedom represents a fantasy they can only dream about.

We need to develop far greater appreciation for the magnitude of this freedom.

Many of your neighbours to your south are critical of your generosity in making world-class health care available to all your residents.  No resident of your country is ever denied top level medical attention because of their status within their community.

Health care is only of value to those who need it and those Canadians who oppose this system are surely from the ranks of those who have never needed to lean on it.

As a beneficiary of your generosity, and as a person who would no longer be here had this system not been available, I cannot find the words to express the depth of my gratitude.

A simple ‘thank you’ seems so inadequate.

Perhaps the greatest of all your gifts to your citizens is the gift of opportunity.

You grant all of us the right to be, do and have whatever we want. You place no barriers in our paths and all you ask in return is that we rise to the challenge and work hard to create the lives we desire.

Along with the right to succeed comes the right to fail and that too has been granted to us. You understand that one can’t have one without the other and when we do fail, all you ask is that, instead of giving up, we try again.

Sadly, I believe, a few of your citizens believe you should be doing more for them. They fail to understand that if you did indeed give them all that they ask of you, you would be denying them true freedom and enslaving them in their own dependence on you. Thank you for granting them the opportunity to succeed or fail at anything they wish. There is no feeling more liberating than the feeling that comes with knowing you own your own life.

I could go on and on but I know you will be receiving thousands of birthday cards and I don’t want to take up too much of your time in reading this one.

So Canada, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for being you and for allowing me the privilege of becoming one of your citizens.

And to tell you how much I love and appreciate you.

I hope you have a wonderful birthday.

And many, many many more.

Rael.

P.S. One small thing! I don’t want you to think I’m complaining but do you think you can do something about the weather?”

Till we read again.

P.S. Check out my new Facebook page www.facebook.com/strategicpathways I’d sure like it if you like it