“The portal of healing and creativity always takes us into the realm of the spirit”. Angeles Arrien, Anthropologist, Educator

“We are all cells in the same body of humanity”. ~Peace Pilgrim

I recently watched a documentary called “Waste Land” nominated for Best Feature Documentary at this year’s Academy Awards. Waste Land follows renowned Brazilian contemporary artist, Vik Muniz as he embarks on a 2-year project at Jardim Gramacho, one of the world’s largest landfills, serving the metropolis of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

There he works with the catadores, or “pickers” who make their living picking through the garbage for recyclable materials to sell. The project involves creating photographic portraits of the pickers and then projecting an enlarged version of each photo onto the floor of his studio. He then hires the pickers themselves to add recyclable materials from the landfill onto the canvas, photographing the finished work from overhead. The resulting artwork is transformative and spectacular!

As I was watching this moving and beautiful film I was reminded of the power of the human spirit and the value of each and every individual on the planet. More often than not we look for inspiration in people who have “succeeded”, have “made it”, who hold degrees, run organizations, lead churches and the like. Rarely do we look at those who appear less fortunate than ourselves for such inspiration. The programming in our universe tells us that they have less to offer.

And yet the characters featured in this documentary, who worked in grueling conditions for little financial reward, were inspirational for me. Their stories were stirring, their strength of spirit awe-inspiring and their contribution to the wellbeing of the planet was incredible!

It reminded me also of my passion for Intuitive Touch Healing where I am afforded the opportunity of seeing beyond the surface layer of pictures and energy that we all carry with us, and more fully understanding the unique stories, path and humanity of each individual I work with – where I can dismantle the programming in my universe that would only have me recognize the value of a select group of people.

Inspiration is all around us, even where you might least expect to find it! Make the decision to expand your vision, look for the positive in what appears on the surface to be negative, allow your fellow human beings from all walks of life to inspire you, change your perspective and, as a result, heal you!