Everyday life can make it hard enough to maintain your balance without the violence that obliterates the silence and solitude. Despite the way-below-freezing temperatures Wednesday, I found it impossible to stay inside after hearing of the Charlie Hebdo murders. My mind felt like a boom box in an echo chamber, replaying the news events over and over till I had to escape. To me, it wasn't much different than if I or another LBGT author had been targeted for the contents of our books. To shake off the thoughts, I knew it would be better to be surrounded by people, even if I didn't know them. What better choice, then, than to go to a public place that celebrates freedom of expression, freedom of choice and freedom of ideas? As luck would have it, the Art Gallery of Ontario was presenting a show called Art As Therapy. It was made to measure.
Stage One: leaving the house at minus-18 celsius and dropping.
I hope it's not for our wars that we'll be remembered, but for our art.
