The hands of an artist ...

I know of late this Blog is starting to sound like a founding chapter of the Tomson Highway fan club ... but it's not ... I just find myself wanting to share how much meeting this man has meant to me in my life ...

The last couple of years has been an incredible time of transition, transformation, growth, set back, struggle, and most of all resurrection for me ... As I look back there have been many incredible moments, both good and bad, that have left indelible impressions on me ... I have been deeply wounded ... profoundly hurt ... and utterly devastated by the nasty words, actions and manipulations of others ... but thankfully, many of those moments have been off-set and balanced by the kindness of friends ... the love of my circle of family and long-term friends ... and the unwavering support of the people who know the real me and who have been there to pick me up, dust me off, hear my rants, wipe away my tears and give me the hug and the encouragement to carry on ...

So looking back, I can see many many many positive moments where some little thing has had a profound effect on my life journey ... This summer, one morning on the dam I had just such a moment ...

I biked past a gentleman walking on the dam and stopped and said - "are you Tomson Highway?"

The affirmative answer and the open and generous response and the ensuing conversations have succeeded not only in turning me into a HUGE Tomson Highway fan, but my "brush with fame" has helped me make some decisions in my life about what I want to do and be about, and where I want my life to go ... Tomson Highway and his partner helped me listen to the whisper in my soul that has been saying for a very long time - "I want to write !!!"

This fall I have not only listened ... I have tried to obey ... for the first time in a very long time I'm following my soul and trusting in God (or the cosmos) to see me through to a destination that is yet unknown ...

And, tonight I watched Tomson Highway take time with a young native man who said - "I'm kind of a lost soul ..." and described the incredible journey he's been on with HUGE set backs of his health and well being ... he then said to Tomson - "I don't know what I want to do to let the words in me out ... art, song, writing, ... I just don't know??"

Tomson listened patiently to the young man, and then said - "Try it all !!! Just try it all. You'll never know until you try, then you'll find your voice ... follow it"

Tomson Highway is just the son of a Cree trapper-hunter from north of Brochet in Northern Manitoba ... he has the hands of an artist ... and the heart and soul of a wise, caring, generous and truly mystical being ...

I will always look back on the encounters I have had with him and his partner as one of the most Blessed experiences of my life ... and I will be thankful for it for a very long time. Everything happens for a reason ...