Blog # 64…December 2016

Sometimes life seems to be about nothing but losses and this year has been unrelenting … mourning the deaths of our own loved ones here at home and, far too many of our fellow citizens in the middle east. Now horrors in a Christmas market and an art gallery

We.ve had some pinpoints of light shine through though. Gord Downie touched us all when he pushed indigenous issues into the spotlight by honouring the memory of Chanie Wenjak, the young boy who died attempting to escape from a residential school in the sixties. Gord’s beautiful tribute album Secret Path was followed by Jeff Lemire’s graphic novel The Secret Path which then was turned into the animated film that aired on CBC in October. It’s still viewable at cbc.ca/secretpath. 

“This is about Canada. We are not the country we thought we were….aboriginal children need to know that history includes them, this is not an aboriginal problem, it’s a Canadian problem” words from Murray Sinclair, chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He and Gord Downie both have a place in my personal Hall of Heroes.

I’ve been blogging for five years now about how art in its various and wondrous forms can help us make sense of the world.  I still cling to that notion but its powers are being tested pretty sharply at the moment. Maybe like me, you need to take a break from worrying ocasionally… about how we’re losing respect for the value of work and of liberal democracy and most distressing - our environment. We need to avoid looking at the world outside sometimes, take a breath and relish what we have. A couple of new books may help you feel less "out to pasture"…Tom Friedman’s Thanks for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving and The Revenge of Analog : Real Things and why they Matter by David Sax.

So, enjoy the holidays, be happy and safe, hold close the ones you love.  We’ll pick up the worry beads again in the New Year and discover some art and artists to delight us all.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.