Joy
Taylor Swift sings about it but it does not exist.
At least not in the periphery of our minds.
We close our eyes and stem the tide but much as we try, images will begin to crowd our consciousness. Light filters in, a faint filtering of a prism, like waves breaking over mounds of hewn rock, and then a sound or two – voices that seem to belong to us but not – edging each other out until one or two take center stage and we are caught up in a story, much like a spider in its web.
The Artist.
He then let the colours cascade on canvass, while the camera panned alternately to his hand, his brush, his face. He was immersed in the moment, caught in the words he was trying to speak.
It was at once stark and beautiful.
The video, shown to me after the interview, was made by J.A.’s brother, Thomas, a screenwriter by profession, and it spoke of J.A.’s journey, of his autism, of his art. Of how everything was difficult but perfect for J.A., because he found a way to speak his truth.
Sanctuary
Granville Island boasts of “fine waterfront restaurants, theatres, galleries, studios, unique shops, cafes and the most spectacular fresh food market you’ve ever seen.” It is infused with colour and energy and showcased Vancouver’s sea to sky magnificence.
It is also a hotbed for art.
For Jose Antonio “J.A.” Tan, however, it is a sanctuary. It is there—at the Saltwater Studios off of Duranleau Street in Granville—that he spends his days speaking his mind through expressions/explosions of wonder and beauty.
To him, it was the flowing water that surrounds Granville, which one could barely hear in the distance, that soothed him best (the False Creek Inlet was few steps, in fact, from his studio) and allows him to bring to life his inner world.
Grow.
When one arrives in a new country, he has grandiose dreams.
Much like the dreams that he left back home. But only more vivid, more reachable.
Maybe it is earning more than he has ever dreamed of, or living a life of utter happiness or peace, contributing to his greater good, fulfilling his potentials.
Be what he was – doctor, teacher, lawyer, engineer, architect, scientist – learned, professional, respected.
He finds that in his new country, in Canada, it is not so easy.
It is not easy but it is possible.
If you are a foreign professional and you want to practice your profession in Canada, take heart from the fact that the path has been laid out for you. Some more clear than others, yes, but many have laboured long and hard so that the future will see that road.
The future is now. You are it.
Harvest Time
I thought I had given up blogging, but it is a gift that keeps on giving. And one fine day, I thought, what would it take for me to go back?
Maybe it is the shedding away of a lot of responsibilities, a shedding away of writing as a career.
I was editor of a newspaper. Words were my life. Others’ words, some mine, but I was inundated with it that I wanted nothing to do with it.
The creativity was stifled somehow. Because of a perceived audience, because of being careful, because of what cannot be said, because of what should be said.