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Extraordinary acts are not reserved for the special few. The vast majority of people are making the world a better and more beautiful place.
That’s why I write – to celebrate the love and creativity of so called ordinary people. Someone or something they care about is vulnerable, under siege or in trouble, and they have no choice but to respond. Their actions are expressions of the heart.
I am optimistic about what we can do together when everyone’s gifts, talents and love are enabled and welcomed.
~ Al Etmanski
I am currently compiling a book the celebrates the variety of ways Canadians receive and give care. I want the book to shine a light on caring as that invisible yet indispensable force that connects us to each other and which enables society to function and flourish. The book will explore concepts of natural caring inspired by my late wife Vickie Cammack’s writing and work. She defined natural caring as love in action – a precious and intimate experience shared between those receiving and those giving care. Vickie believed that everyday, everywhere just about everyone is taking care of each other, our neighbourhoods, birds, waterways, trees, rocks indeed all life on the planet.
All proceeds of the book will support the wonderful work of the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence.
Disability Without Poverty and the Canada Disability Benefit
In 2020 I was involved with a group of disabled people who were determined to end the extreme poverty experienced by too many disabled people. They became Disability Without Poverty. Their immediate goal was to lobby into existence the world’s first basic income supplement.
They were successful. The Canada Disability Benefit Act was passed unanimously in the House of Commons and received Royal Assent in June 2023. The work continues. Including to expand eligibility to all disabled Canadians who are poor, simplify enrolment and to increase the amount of the benefit.
Read more and follow their progress here.
Stories from the book
I attended Christa’s performance as a singer-songwriter several years ago and have followed her expanding career as a storyteller and radio host ever since. She is no stranger to loss and the grief that accompanies it. She has a rare and precious perspective on hardship, setback, and being different. Read Christa’s story from the chapter Lesson 6, “Adversity is an Opportunity.”
I was drawn to Carmen’s work because of his focus on trusting relationships. His Accessibility Manifesto for the Arts is a testimony to trust between citizens, institutions and those in authority. It can also be read as a manifesto for citizens on how to make government more accessible. Read Carmen’s story from Lesson 9, “Nothing About Us Without Us.”
I first experienced Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Room in a museum outside of Copenhagen. Thankfully there was no lineup since contemplating your place in the universe takes time. Now she is known as the priestess of polka dots, but she was ignored for decades like English artist William Blake. Both created in obscurity and embody the power of imagination. Read Kusama’s story from Lesson 7, Art Blooms at the Edge.
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