It’s funny how we often assume that others lives are similar to our own. Until someone says something or does something that takes us by surprise. It doesn’t have to be a “BIG” thing it can be very small, like how they arrange the dishwasher, if they even have one. As much as we have many general big things in our worlds that make us more similar than different there are still soooo many variations on so many others.
My children and Daughter-in-law often talk about first world problems, so true. When we are perplexed or stressed because our cell phone isn’t working as we think it should, or we have so many choices of food, that many actually put food restrictions on themselves like vegetarian, vegan, organic, raw food only. (I actually feel sometimes that they are judging and trying to shame us into eating this way.) We are so fortunate that we have food! Readily available food, clean drinking water, so much that we actually flush our toilets with clean drinking water. We live a very blessed life.
I read a book called “Understanding Poverty” that was an eye opener. The skills needed to survive in a low, middle and high class situation. On the low end, being able to move in 24 hours or less, on the high end knowing several languages to be capable to order off of a menu in most places in the world. How we survived socially, in the lower end how friends and people you know are assets to survival, no money but Pete down the street fixes cars when you need that service,, that when someone asks you for something if you have it to give, you give it. It said, have you wondered why low income people rarely have much money a day or two after they were paid? Apparently if they hadn’t spent the money and a friend knows they have some that friend can ask for it or Pete that worked on your car for free can now ask for it and you are obligated to give it, okay that explains that. For the middle class, when you are meeting new people you introduce yourself, you maybe even have an elevator speech, a little blurb about who you are, to help you with your business. The Upper class, on the other hand waits for a colleague to introduce a stranger, a vetting process, as if you haven’t been formally introduced you may be looking for a something in return. How interesting.
I was relating to my sister that I thought people were less materialistic now a days, she looked at me with eyes of wonder, not in her world. I was reading a book by Brene Brown, and she was telling how many people who are experiencing something warm and fussy like watching their sweet children sleeping, all of a sudden jumps to a thought of something terrible happening to them and ruining the moment, and I thought “Really” why would people do that, those types of thoughts would never sneak in to ruin my wonderful moment. So sad to hear they might for others.
This year I created 150 paintings of Canada, I would love for them to tour the country, and have been looking for ways to do that. I have looked out my provincial Arts Council and the Canadian Arts Council for possible support, but low and behold they want you to be famous first! How you get to be famous is the crux, but I suppose it is like talking to a person lately that was talking about a young person and they were asking them what they want to be when they grow up , and they replied a professional athlete. They were confused, as they had never heard this person had ever been involved in any sport prior to that and they were 17/18 now. How does one get to be famous, with out the work behind it, the practise and struggle? I guess that is what I maybe need to think about myself, the struggle part….do I really? Does an artist actually have to struggle with “Art” first? Then there was the discussion about whether art is moving more and more towards the elite, and that you need to have a patron or know people to succeed, where on the other end there is always, “Etsy” I suppose, I do like the sounds of a “Thriving” artist vs a “Struggling” one.
The world is such an interesting place, even more I think we need to check our perceptions to actual reality, and who’s reality?
YVETTE CUTHBERT, Artist 