During the time I’ve been in Vancouver, one of my hosts has been Donald Dawson. Donald and his partner Miriam Linderman have Walked for Peace with me in many different parts of the city. Today we started by going to see Donald’s workspace. Donald is a metal fabricator and blacksmith, and I was thrilled to see the place where he creates his work. One of the things that is unique about Donald’s work is that he can do everything from large, commercial use items forged from steel to small, intricately designed decorative items for the home. I also noticed as Donald shared his studio and work with me that he is truly passionate about it, and that the feeling is contagious.
Next, we went to a part of East Vancouver called “the Drive”. It’s an eight to ten block section of the city that is comprised of eateries and shops representing the rich, diverse culture of the people who live here. The smells of different foods, the sounds of particular accents and even the change in trinkets for sale in store window displays caused me to think about the true gift that diversity brings and how much more expansive our life experience can be when we invite it in rather than shy away from it.
Finally, we took a tour of Stanley Park. The park was absolutely overflowing with people walking, bicycle riding, picnicking and sightseeing. The park is surrounded by a sea wall, and the water was full of activity from sailing to tugboats moving barges. I found myself happy to see so many people outside enjoying the day (a civic holiday in Canada) even though the sky is still thick with smoke from fires in the interior of British Columbia.
The day was graced by the sharing of one’s craft between friends, to the melding of a community rich in its differences, to the harmonious co-existence of relative strangers in nature. A day of Peace, for sure.