Its almost been three years now since I went to Honduras to do volunteer work for victims of Hurricane Mitch and I am still feeling the effects of my time down there. I do know that I came back to Canada with a very different perspective on life in general. My mother often says "Get off of Grumble corner and onto Thanksgiving Street" and that would be a good way of summing up the overall experience. We have so much to be thankful for here in Canada, but I also feel that I am thankful for witnessing first hand how what we view as poverty can be a blessing in some ways. What I saw was that the less you have the less complicated your life was and the possibility of happiness was greater. Bare in mind that I am seeing this from the other side of the fence; someone who maybe only eats once a day or maybe even every second day might see things differently. Its a complicated thing to express properly, suffice it to say that stuff doesn't bring you happiness, relationships do. Seeing those wonderful Honduran people washing their clothes in the Rio Bonito surrounded by family laughing and playing really makes you think about things in a different light. This painting has been in my mind for practically three years and finally made it the surface last week and quite accurately expresses my sentiments. It is currently in Winnipeg for a two day show called
The Lives of Women being held at the Arlington Gallery on 618 Arlington Street. The show happens from November 24-25th between 12 to 6 pm. If you are from Winnipeg please make a point of visiting, I am sure it will be a great experience. Proceeds from the show will be going to the Womens Crisis Centre in Osborne Village. I am happy to be part of it.
