Dear Reader,
Early in my life I landed on the notion that a mind exercised in the morning might, throughout the day, somehow stay more nimble than otherwise. History will likely prove this thesis wrong in my case, yet the presumption has often led me since university days to absorb myself in crafting two or three letters immediately after rising.
I have found over time that setting down a few thoughts – perhaps those hatched in conversation the evening prior or those that disturb my sleep in the dark hours – helps root me each day in the progress of ideas, affections, loyalties, and aspirations I have come to think of as my business in life.
My morning letters are typically either expressions of gratitude to those who have served their causes well, admiration for those who have pioneered new ways of thinking, or, when bold, encouragement to those embarking on uncertain adventures. The selfish benefit of these exercises is that I seem to understand each idea I begin with more vividly after writing about it than I did beforehand. As such, it seemed appropriate – even instinctive – to choose letters as a medium in which to explore the values, sensibilities, traditions, and achievements that make Canada unique. And so I did. Based on facts as I knew them.
I wrote some of these to friends and colleagues I know or knew well, and others to people and even groups of people I wish I knew better. Some were sent and some were not, often simply because their intended recipients had passed away.
I offer them here in all humility. As disparate as they might be in topic and tone, together they house the general set of realities that have shaped me, that consume me, and that inspire me to see Canada itself as an idea worthy of expression and searching for refinement. My hope is that perhaps by reading a few, you might help me do both.
Warmly,
David Johnston
Ottawa 2016