When I was a younger man I was consumed with passions.

I think you were, too.

We all go through emotional turmoil, some of you are still young and going through it!

Part of it is feeling adrift in the larger world, small in the face of enormity.

We feel we need a purpose, a reason, a divine path.

And it’s true.

The problem is that we tend to live in an adolescent society that reduces issues to either/or.

Should I do this, or that? Date him or dump him? Take this job, or that one?

What does God want me to do?

Of course, we are making two big errors. The first is reducing the complexities of our options to a binary code when in fact we have an unlimited array of choices we could make.

We don’t just have to do one thing or another. We can do both, find a way to allow for greater freedom in our decisions. Or we could do none of them at all and look to entirely new paths.

The second error is presuming an Infinite Universe has only one Purpose for us. Just one thing we could possibly do to have a positive or profound impact on the world.

We can do thousands of things! Tens of thousands! There is no end to the good work we can do and if we are paying attention, it can change all the time.

The important thing is to start. Start with at least one thing first and then learn to expand our way of thinking to include as many options as possible.

The world is rarely what we think it is.

It’s usually better.

And we are both smaller and larger in it than we might believe. We are not as important as our egos might suggest, but we are far more important than we are able to imagine. If that sounds a bit confusing, it’s because it is – until you start walking your path.

Which as we have learned, is any path that serves us and others right now.

This painting was made for one of my very best friends. His beautiful partner asked me to create it.

It usually takes me at least a year to create a commission piece. Why? I wish I could say. I think there is something that needs to develop, some seed that needs to come to fruition. Even if I finish something quickly, I will stay with it for a long time until I’m sure.

This painting, I realized, had to be about beauty. It had to be about layers of the human soul, it had to be about meditation and prayer.

It had to be about truth.

And that’s not always easy. You could say that adult life is a constant practice of stripping away illusions, stripping away the small dishonesties that plague us.

Purpose will get you there.

It’s my birthday.

I have been trying to walk in purpose all my life and have frequently stumbled, fallen and got back up again.

I’ve hurt others and been hurt in turn.

I know there are struggles and weaknesses to transform in my future.

Just as there are in yours.

But here’s the thing. We are not alone. We are in this life together.

The greatest value you can develop in your heart is to help when you can help, with gratitude and in honouring.

I wish I could give everyone a gift on my birthday, some token to show how grateful I am to be sharing this path with you.

Instead I will offer my prayers, my energy and my hard work. May the love I put into the work I have been given lift you in some small way, at some small time when you need it.

Hiy hiy.

——-

For more artwork, visit:

http://www.society6.com/aaronpaquette/prints

(Today is free shipping, worldwide)

——-

photo: Jeremy Briand

You gave me eyes to see the world, a heart to feel it.

You gave me ears to hear the morning song, and legs to walk the land, to swim the waters.

You gave me feet to be soothed in cool grasses, and hands to hold to loved ones.

You gave me life that I might know sorrow and joy and weakness made strong.

You gave me patience and teaching and a cool touch on a fevered brow, a small push forward when I was afraid to fly.

You gave me all and more, through pain and through love.

All I have to offer in return is my gratitude and awe and never ending love.

Thank you, Mom, for everything.

——-

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mom’s out there. We would be nothing without you.

——-

Art & Words: Aaron Paquette

So it was pretty amazing to me when I read that Tesla, the electric car company that I’ve been following for years, has just received an incredible review from Consumer Reports.

“So is the Tesla Model S the best car ever? We wrestled with that question long and hard. It comes close. And if your needs are confined to the Tesla’s driving range, it just may be.”

Here’s the link:

Tesla Review

Here’s the video:

And here’s a great comment from one of the readers, TomM:

I run a Tesla Roadster here in the EU, and want to show how EU demand for the Tesla Model S could dwarf sales in the USA, because the long term fuel savings exceed the cars purchase costs!

I used to pay the equivalent of $9,500 a year for petrol, averaging 15,000 miles a year in an Audi RS6 estate car. Petrol / Gas here costs a whopping $10.30 a gallon… in other words about 300% more than in the USA.

My Tesla costs just $375 in-grid electricity PER YEAR for the same miles, using a night-time top-up charge. Therefore saving me about $9,000 per year. And the car is even more accelerative than the Audi ever was, in real world terms. There are also no road taxes for EV’s either, which is another $800 a year saved.

Over 5 yrs, allowing for fuel inflation at 6-7%, I will save approx $55,000 in running costs compared to running an ICE car of “similar performance”.

Over 10 yrs … that works out at about $130,000 SAVED compared to paying for petrol … yup. $130k. I do not see how anyone can glibly dismiss a saving of that magnitude … I’m putting that saving into my kids education, rather than providing profit to oil companies and vast taxes to the government.

Basically, an EU purchased Model S will entirely pay for itself in fuel savings alone, and that’s before considering significant tax reduction benefits …

Once companies and individuals start looking at the numbers, I think demand here could easily exceed the USA, and the EU population is nearly 3 times that of the USA…

The Model S battery is warranted for 8 yrs / 100,000 miles. But I believe the battery pack is probably good for around 150,000+ miles before its capacity drops to 75%. By the time it might need replacement, the revised pack will more than likely be half the price, and twice the capacity … therefore increasing Tesla’s margins or lowering retail prices of the cars etc etc

In Canada, the majority of prison inmates are Native.

That is: First Nations, Metis, Inuk.

In Canada the majority of homeless, or people on the streets are Native.

In Canada, the vast majority of children who do not have access to clean water, decent education, food security and health care are Native.

In Canada, half of the children are in foster care are Native. The Native child population is still being removed from their families.

The history of this land that you don’t learn, that you aren’t taught, is a Native history and began thousands of years ago.

The people Native to this land lived free, lived happy, lived strong. There was no issue of substance abuse, sexual abuse, domestic abuse.

While I’m sure not everything was a paradise, and to be sure there were wars and conflicts, the general reality was a pretty good one.

These social ills are a direct result of colonization and it didn’t just happen a long time ago. It is happening today.

The theft of land.

The theft of resources.

The theft of innocence, of decency, of culture and of soul.

These things still happen.

I could spend a lifetime correcting the many many untruths you have been told by the government, by those who don’t know what they are talking about, by those with their own agendas, and I wouldn’t touch the tip of the iceberg.

There is a continuing effort to marginalize and “disappear” the people of this land. To complete the process of colonization and assimilation.

And now you know.

It was never your fault, but now that you know it becomes your responsibility.

We all watch in complicit silence as the diversity, the balance, the beauty of this world is consumed by an ever expanding culture of consumption and destruction.

We all wonder what is going to happen, who’s going to stop it, trusting that there is still time.

This painting is of my uncle, who lived on the streets and died on the streets. I am sure people assumed the worst of him, wrote him off as another bum, another native, another proof of the inherent laziness and unsuitability of a man with brown skin and a culture based in the natural laws of life.

They never saw the horrors done to him and his parents and their’s.

All in the name progress.

Rape in the name of Canada.

I tell this story and know many will be unhappy, offended, annoyed and dismissive.

But I know that there is at least one heart that will be moved. One heart that will choose to stand.

We can never right the wrongs of the past, but we can make sure we aren’t perpetuating them through our silence.

We live in an incredible time.

As a mixed race person, I have found that there is only the human race, and only one life: All Life.

We are all connected. I hold no anger for the past, but I feel we need to understand it to move forward. We need to see with open eyes.

I am your brother, your son, your father.

And you are All My Relations.

We know what the past seven generations have brought.

We can do better for the coming Seven Generations.

Hiy hiy.

Despair or Hope. Artists have a role to play, and so do you. Please share.

http://www.citadeltheatre.com/event/percolate-brewing-ideas-with-aaron-paquette/

From Vision to Execution: The Artist’s Roadmap to the Future

What is the role of the artist in a modern, connected society? Does art reflect the culture, or shape it?

And what about sustainability? Do the old forms still work, or is there a new movement rising?

Independent, untrained artists are capturing the public’s attention and shaping the social discourse. Why? And how is this happening?

An evening with artist, writer and speaker Aaron Paquette will shed light on these questions as he walks with you through this exciting new world where technology, social change, and humour converge. You will be challenged to re-evaluate your perceptions of what art is in the 21st century and where it is taking us on the uncertain road ahead, and why that’s a very good thing.

Thursday, May 2 2013

Venue: The Club
Phone: 780.425.1820
Address: 9828 101A Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Tickets are free:

http://www.citadeltheatre.com/event/percolate-brewing-ideas-with-aaron-paquette/

This event will be streaming LIVE around the world:

http://www.livestream.com/percolate

——-

Presenting partners are the Alberta Museums Association, Citadel Theatre, Edmonton Arts Council, Edmonton Heritage Council and MacEwan University

——-

To me, Spring is the New Year.

I’ve always felt that way. As the snow begins to melt in our cold Northern corner of the world I find I am filled with anticipation for the warm weather, for the beginning of new dreams, for the long rest I will take to finish my book in calm and peace.

It’s been almost 10 months since my wife, Clarice, was shattered under the impact of one vehicle and crushed under the wheels of another in a bizarre and preventable accident. When she was first in the hospital, the prognosis was not good. It was thought she might never walk again, that she would even now be undergoing agonizing rehabilitation.

Instead she is back at work doing what she loves: teaching.

She is more easily tired and feels new pains, but she is alive, about and ready for more challenges. She plans to walk a marathon.

I am grateful for her.

And I’m grateful for the uncountable good people who prayed for her, meditated, sent healing and good thoughts.

There is a temptation and tendency to discard all beliefs when you see the pain and suffering in the world, when you see the harmful ignorance blind faith can bring.

But the wisest among us will say that there is more than we can explain and always will be. And behind it all is the hand of the Creator. Any ignorance about science, about politics, about people, about love…this is all the work (or lack of work) of Man. Not the fault of Creation.

To truly believe, to have faith, means that you show gratitude for the gift of life. That you seek to understand, to marvel, to glory in the beauty of everything. To ease the suffering of others and become a noble ancestor for those who follow in your footsteps.

In short, to make this world kinder place.

Life has enough natural slings and arrows, we don’t need to be one of those who casts out pains like the fits of a child.

There is life, death and rebirth.

And we all have access to it. Life and death are inevitable. To be reborn, to awaken, is a choice.

Sometimes you have to be on the threshold of death to see that choice. Sometimes you just have to wake up to the morning sun, or see the eternal stars in the sky.

How it happens for you doesn’t matter.

All that matters is that you listen when your time comes.

Listen not with your ears, but with your heart.

There are those who are born physically different in the make up of their brain, their cognitive function, who lack empathy. Have empathy for them. They seek approval through power, money and control because they are blind to the deeper sense of belonging that exists.

For them, the world is a tool, rather than a gift. Life is a scorecard instead of a journey. And all things are either for or against them, rather than existing in effortless flow and harmony.

They can’t meditate, they can’t feel the life thrumming through the stones themselves, and they are hunted by emptiness beyond measure.

For them my heart goes out and I offer my prayers.

They will find no peace in this life beyond what love and companionship and compassion are given them.

They have reshaped the very fabric of our society and economy to give themselves some illusion of protection against unknown horrors, against the uncertainty that makes life vibrant.

We must give our effort, thought and love to returning the world to it’s better state, it’s sustainable state, the state where we lift each other in communities. Where we know our neighbours and we see farther than our own lifetime.

To be a strong individual alone is simply not enough and against our nature.

Companionship, community and caring for one another, making each other strong, that’s what brings us happiness. We know this, we attempt it all the time. We have groups of friends, church groups, community leagues, gangs, militias and so on, all to forge these connections.

To deliberately reshape the world, the way we do things, will bring it back to us.

There are no enemies.

There are only the lost, and those who are finding a way.

Lift one another.

Raise each other to be strong, independent and then interdependent.

That’s how we start building the world our children deserve.

I pray for those who seek to glorify their uniqueness and individualism. Those who seek to rise above everyone to rule, to enforce, to command.

They are the loneliest people on earth.

Always empty, never filled, and forgetful of their kinship with all life.

All of Creation teaches that we rely on each other.

So be giving, forgiving and kind.

That’s the way.

Hiy hiy

——-

Wondering what the back story is?

The accident

——-

How do I keep my life from falling apart?

I try to get my schedule solid at least three months in advance for everything (6 months for the broad strokes)

By the way, that’s a good lesson if you want it:

Plan out your year by scheduling up all the things you know about. Now look for the gaps. What can you put in those gaps that will make your life, work and relationships better?

If you’re an artist, musician, etc do you have any shows or gigs lined up? Time to get on the phone and set a few things up!

For the upcoming 6 months, get a little more detailed, and even more for the next three moths. Firm it all up.

Now, take the next month and figure out your time for each day.

For the next two weeks, refine.

If you just start doing that, most other things will begin to fall into place.

As an artist, I always thought that kind of scheduling would be restrictive. The truth is, it has freed me more than any other thing in life. Since I always know what I’m doing, I know where my days and weeks of free time will be. It means something.

I even schedule in some time off every three months, even if its a few days of staycation. It helps recharge the batteries and avoid burnout.

Time is all we have. We’re all born with it. Use it wisely, use it to be productive, and use it to let loose and explore.

But most of all, value your time, especially with your friends and loved ones. It never comes round again, so make every moment count.

By counting every moment.

——-

Here’s a quick message for folks who need this sort of service:

I’ve been wonderfully busy for the past few months.

Teaching

Workshops

Murals

Stained Glass

Writing, writing, writing…

Visiting Conferences, schools, events has been incredible.

Working with businesses to increase their creativity (and therefore: profitability) has been pretty fun, too!

All in all, it’s been a blast sharing my knowledge.

I’m taking a bit of time in April and May to finish up my book and then I’m open for booking again. I have a bit of September and October filled, but so far there is still some room in the schedule.

If you know anyone who would benefit from bringing me in, let them know! If it’s you, give me a shout.

Things fill up fast!

——-

I find the better my schedule is organized, the more organic it becomes.

I should mention, however, that I find the grid system of anything in life to be alien. We are born into a round world from a round womb. Our seasons turn, our lives revolve. Every atom is made of revolutions.

A schedule? Only a tool to remind me to remember all of that in the midst of a busy life filled with children, family, service, writing, painting and creating.

There are many people who count on me, and many lives I can touch if I am able to negotiate through this world in calm and peacefulness.

I know everyone approaches everything with their own perspective and that’s what makes life interesting.

For me, as an artist, I have a tendency to lose myself, to lose track of time, to fall into a different rhythm. How tempting to follow into the wild! But children need rearing, jobs need doing.

First body, then book, as they say.

That old Zen practice of chopping wood and drawing water…I like it.

It speaks to me of the enlightenment to be found in the little things, in the mundane things that we think are preventing us from authenticity.

When really, they are the most direct path.

As practical as the scheduling teaching is, behind it sits the universe, ready to be revealed.

——-

Aaron Paquette

——-

“To forgive is a balm for the soul. To understand there is nothing to forgive is the cure for all suffering.”

I posted that on Twitter today and got a number of private messages as a result.

Most of them were angry.

People don’t want to entertain the idea that there might be “nothing to forgive”. They are hurting, and there’s a reason why!

Well, of course there’s a reason.

And even if the reason is the actions of others, there’s something else at work here:

Our interpretation of what’s going on.

If you’ve ever been under the mercy of someone else’s power – physically, emotionally, financially, etc. – then you know how constrained you can feel. How frightened. How small.

But if you’ve ever stood up and left that situation – gotten out of it by your own efforts – then you know an extremely important thing:

To change the situation, you had to change yourself first.

You have to find a place inside you that is infinitely stronger than the forces trying to keep you down.

Some people never find that.

Sadly, it usually isn’t their fault. Tools are taught and shared, and to discover them alone is difficult…almost impossible.

And if you never find the tools to rise, you never learn to forgive because forgiveness is one of the essential tools for true freedom.

In fact, when you learn to forgive you find that your heart opens to the knowledge that there is never anyone to truly blame. We are all responsible for the state of the world.

You can blame the human race but that will get you nowhere fast. You might as well blame the very concept of life for your personal suffering.

And when you get on that path, things can get very dark indeed.

Everyone has been born into a flawed world full of fear and emptiness.

But we’ve also been born into a world of incredible kindness and love. We are surrounded by it on a constant basis.

But there are those who are lost or who have a piece of them missing, who are not cared for by the society we find ourselves in.

Do we blame society, then?

No.

Again, there is no one to blame.

There is only forgiveness.

And beyond forgiveness is acceptance.

Acceptance that we are on a path together. Acceptance that things must improve for the sake of those yet to be born. Acceptance that all suffering, and all victories in this world, have lead directly to you, me and everyone we know.

Our job, if we ever had one, is to make things better.

To create bonds of love and community. To reach out, to be vulnerable. To be so vulnerable we are an unbreakable strength.

There is no one to forgive because there is no one to blame.

There are only fallow fields to seed, empty voids to bring into creation, limitless possibilities to foster, nurture and allow.

This is pretty heady stuff, I know, but it’s also the most practical way there is to move into a better world.

Forgiveness releases the poison of our souls. To go beyond forgiveness releases the potential of our souls.

There is a place you can journey to in your heart of hearts: that realm between wakefulness and dreams. In that place there is no good or bad, no darkness or light. It’s a place where all opposites come together.

The universe is not divided.

The universe is complete, whole and beautiful.

Did you feel that tremor in your soul?

That’s the voice of truth.

Others have said it better:

Uni – One

Verse – Song

Right and wrong are ways we follow to understand how to live more fully. They are guideposts along the road. And yes, there is darkness and light, and we do choose.

But once you choose light enough you see that darkness never actually existed.

It was just emptiness waiting for the light.

Go beyond your concern for those who wield power over you. Because they don’t. They wield power over shadows, which in the end are nothing.

You are light.

You have all the power at your disposal that ever was.

As long as you love abundantly, fearlessly and with absolute, carefree abandon and joy, you will use that power to brighten the lives of others, to help all of humanity on our way together.

This is my prayer.

Hiy hiy.

.

Let’s make this the start of something incredible. Join me in a revolution.

What do you get out of it?

The world, chico. And everything in it. This is a commitment that will change your life for the better, forever.

Here’s how it works:

Read one book a week. Without fail.

To understand a thing, read five diverse books on the topic.

Read every day.

Read to your children.

Read to your friends.

Read to your elders.

Share what you’ve read.

Write about it.

And write your own book.

Join the #ReadingRevolution

Education is what gives you ideas. Ideas are what transform the world.

So what do you say? Will you make the commitment?

hiy hiy

Aaron Paquette
March 4, 2013

#BookaWeek

#Fivebooks

.

I grew up in a rough neighbourhood and harsh circumstances.

My identity was suppressed, my brown skin hated. My siblings experienced the same things.

We had to learn to fight. To win.

We had to learn to please the powerful, the authorities, to wear a second face. We were scared in the world and scared at home.

We were fortunate though. While home wasn’t a haven, we also had love. We had wisdom. Our parents did the best they could and sometimes it wasn’t great at all. Sometimes it was beyond what a child could hope.

We were abandoned by our father, raised by a step-dad out of his depth and a mother who battled her own demons and eventually overcame them.

In the midst of it all we came through.

We came through strong and ready for the world.

And our family has been healing and growing closer.

So to transform all that hate and anger and sadness and loss into hope, love, joy and giving…that’s been my life journey.

Am I perfect at it? Heck, no.

But I’m doing my best. Every day.

And sometimes doing my best means that I make mistakes. I speak in a moment of frustration when I should be silent and laugh at myself for taking “me” so seriously.

I have emotional reactions to moments where I feel abandoned or unloved. Sure, these moments last seconds now instead of years, but I do have them.

Sometimes I don’t want to soften my heart. I want to win. I want to assert my ‘rightness’. Until I do soften and I see how silly those feelings were.

But it’s still a journey for me. I am still shedding the young man who bloodied noses, had his own bloodied more than once.

I’m still learning to open my heart and give unconditional love to all people.

I’m still learning patience for those who purposely try to hurt others with cruelty, disdain or indifference.

We all have our story, and for most of us human beings, it hasn’t been an easy one.

We all have our humiliations, our betrayals, our losses and grief.

But what are you gonna do? Live there?

I promise you that there’s no point to it. It’s spiritual cannibalism and we consume our selves and others.

I promise you that choosing to love instead of being right is fulfilling in a way that “winning” could never be.

I promise you that the journey is awesome. For some, like me, it takes time, mindfulness, meditation and prayer. For others it can be instantaneous. But it’s all the same road, and we’re all on it whether we admit it or not.

And I know, it seems like deciding to love instead of win feels like giving up, like losing.

But it’s not.

It’s something better. It’s going beyond all of it. And you still care, but that’s the thing: You actually *care*.

It’s not an anxiety or anger laden thing. It’s a literal care, a love and nurturing thing.

If you don’t see that’s how the world can change then look again.

It’s the only way the world changes.

And to get there, you have to give up the world, give up all the stupid things that weigh you down. Give up jealousy and hate and personal injustice. It makes you small. It holds you down.

You were made to fly.

Drop those weights. Give them up. They’re not important. Protecting life, protecting our children, protecting our four legged, two legged, swimming and winged relations, that’s what’s important.

And we do it in this new way.

Without negative emotions, only truth.

Without reprisals or debates, only love.

We can’t fix things with the tools we used to get into this jam, can we?

So be the best version of you every day. The one who drops the ego, drops the judgement and drops the fear. The version of you that raises others, raises yourself and raises your community.

Be the version of you that you always wanted to be.

Who cares if it’s hard. Of course it is. It’s like learning to walk. No…it’s learning to fly.

And sure, it might take a long time…but are you doing something more important? I know I’m not.

You are a legend waiting to happen. A story waiting to blow people away with how awesome it is. You are the most incredible person to ever be born.

Why? Because you’re right here, right now, in the most pivotal moment in history. That’s not by mistake. The world needs heroes.

The world needs you.

The world needs you to stop fighting and start giving. Stop shouting and start listening. Stop wasting another moment.

We only have so many of them and while life is long, it’s also way too short once you start living it, but so, so incredible and worthwhile.

There are bigger dreams to be fulfilled ahead of you than you’ve ever imagined.

I came from nothing. No inheritance, no influence, no future. A halfbreed kid with no hope who got in fights and saw nothing ahead but crime, poverty and a cynical life. Friends died, or just gave up. Why not me?

But I had what you have:

A heart.
A will.
A voice.
A body.

That’s all it takes.

Use your gifts. Use them now. Use them every day and make them incredible. Strive, work, excel. Strive, work, excel.

Strive, work, excel.

Everything you want in this world will come to you if you can imagine it.

But you gotta work. You gotta move. You gotta take your dreams and make them physical by physically making them.

If you’re not sweating, you’re not living.

The world needs folks who work with intention, with the biggest dreams the universe has ever seen.

That’s who you are, that’s your purpose, that’s your destiny.

Catch on fire, light your spirit, charge your soul.

There’s a reason for all your suffering until now. The reason was to see this message, to read these words, to hear them in your own heart.

Time to start.

Time to really live, love and shine.

It’s your time.

Start now.