Explorations

By Wendy Lewis April 29, 2021

Wishbowl

Dedicated to those seeking, dreaming of, or wishing for a way out:
May your Wishbowls be filled with strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.¹

To the Abandoned,
Abducted,
Abused,
Addicted,
Depressed,
Displaced,
Distressed,
Enslaved,
Excluded,
Exiled,
Homeless,
Hospitalised,
Impoverished,
Imprisoned,
Injured,
Isolated,
Lonely,
Oppressed,
Persecuted,
Victimized
or Quarantined.

Everyone has their own Wishbowl.
Looking out, looking in. thinking that others are better off.
It may be true, …or maybe not.

Carmine Betta, you’re a fish out of troubled waters
with a one-way ticket on the Flush Express.
Be aware your best days are now.
Such is the life of a fish.

Transient Coneflower, you’re a weed from a summer garden.
Headed from withering heights to a maggoty compost bin.
Be aware your best days are now.
Such is the life of a flower.

We are living exit lights.
We dare to be uncomfortable comforters…
cracking fearsome silence, whispering “This Way Out”.
breaking scarring shackles, showing “This Way Out”.
melting private helplessness, being “This Way Out”.
Our best days are yet to come.
Such is the life of compassionate human beings.

¹Chisholm, Thomas, from “Great is Thy Faithfulness”{public domain poem], 1923

About the author

Wendy Lewis; visual artist, poet and Canadian woman of colour. Born into the Montreal experience a la Vico Magistretti, “look(ing) at usual things with unusual eyes”. Wendy is a 1^styear Graphic Design student at Dawson College.

Acknowledgements

Acrylic on canvas painting of a betta fish looking through a large flashed glass vase at a cut coneflower by author.

Comments

Michela

August 31, 2021

I’ve never been compared to a fish before, it was intriguing. Being shown life through the eyes of a flower or fish puts into perspective how much easier it is to look into someone’s life and assume things are better until you look deeper. Accepting the blows you are given and then not getting back up makes one as uncomprehending as a simple fish or flower until their inevitable death. Fishies and flowers live until they don’t anymore. We as humans experience many events, have ups and downs. Taking steps to change your life or even start the journey to heal is difficult. Fishies and flowers don’t need to heal nor do they have support networks. “melting private helplessness, being “This Way Out” When I read this line, I interpreted it as such: if you were to look into someone’s life and notice they are struggling, It is our task as compassionate humans to aid the best way we can.

mai thi

September 7, 2021

Wishbowl is a comforting piece for moments of challenge, a song for troubled days. It bears a structure that sounds like a melody in my mind. “Such is the life of a fish”, and “Such is the life of a flower” are followed by a passage on us humans “Our best days are yet to come. Such is the life of compassionate human beings”. A fleeting life one may say, but it’s full of eventful experiences: from challenge to rewards, from euphoria to suffering. We will find a way out of the downs, and help another human being out of their trouble and guiding them to a way out. This turns into a wheel that keeps on rolling. The future is promising and there will be a way out. We just need to stay hopeful, and live courageously for today.

Bridgie Fabella Julien

January 22, 2022

Wishbowl is about the moments when you feel helpless, the moments when you feel like everything around you has a direct incidence on what you are going through right now. Some may feel anger towards people who make their life look a way it may not be. It is during these moments where we may have the tendency to envy other people’s happiness. « Looking out, looking in. thinking that others are better off. It may be true, …or maybe not. ». We can choose what we want people to portray us as, but as humans, we all go through different struggles. But we need to remember it is these struggles that make us grow into strong individuals. Life is a rollercoaster. We need to put trust in life, and life will do us good.

simi:)

January 23, 2022

I love this concept of Wishbowl . Reading this reminded me of the times where I always wished I was in the shoes of my cat , where i don’t have to face my problems and i get to eat , sleep and play all day ! I see Wishbowl as the same way where fishes gets to be in their own little world and not face interactions and conflicts that we humains experience . “Our best days are yet to come. Such is the life of compassionate human beings.” But in the end of the day , these events are inevitable and are necessary for our growth . These challenges we endure throughout our lives are what motivates us to cherish the good times and remain hopeful.

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Michela
August 31, 2021

I’ve never been compared to a fish before, it was intriguing. Being shown life through the eyes of a flower or fish puts into perspective how much easier it is to look into someone’s life and assume things are better until you look deeper. Accepting the blows you are given and then not getting back up makes one as uncomprehending as a simple fish or flower until their inevitable death. Fishies and flowers live until they don’t anymore. We as humans experience many events, have ups and downs. Taking steps to change your life or even start the journey to heal is difficult. Fishies and flowers don’t need to heal nor do they have support networks. “melting private helplessness, being “This Way Out” When I read this line, I interpreted it as such: if you were to look into someone’s life and notice they are struggling, It is our task as compassionate humans to aid the best way we can.

mai thi
September 7, 2021

Wishbowl is a comforting piece for moments of challenge, a song for troubled days. It bears a structure that sounds like a melody in my mind. “Such is the life of a fish”, and “Such is the life of a flower” are followed by a passage on us humans “Our best days are yet to come. Such is the life of compassionate human beings”. A fleeting life one may say, but it’s full of eventful experiences: from challenge to rewards, from euphoria to suffering. We will find a way out of the downs, and help another human being out of their trouble and guiding them to a way out. This turns into a wheel that keeps on rolling. The future is promising and there will be a way out. We just need to stay hopeful, and live courageously for today.

Bridgie Fabella Julien
January 22, 2022

Wishbowl is about the moments when you feel helpless, the moments when you feel like everything around you has a direct incidence on what you are going through right now. Some may feel anger towards people who make their life look a way it may not be. It is during these moments where we may have the tendency to envy other people’s happiness. « Looking out, looking in. thinking that others are better off. It may be true, …or maybe not. ». We can choose what we want people to portray us as, but as humans, we all go through different struggles. But we need to remember it is these struggles that make us grow into strong individuals. Life is a rollercoaster. We need to put trust in life, and life will do us good.

simi:)
January 23, 2022

I love this concept of Wishbowl . Reading this reminded me of the times where I always wished I was in the shoes of my cat , where i don’t have to face my problems and i get to eat , sleep and play all day ! I see Wishbowl as the same way where fishes gets to be in their own little world and not face interactions and conflicts that we humains experience . “Our best days are yet to come. Such is the life of compassionate human beings.” But in the end of the day , these events are inevitable and are necessary for our growth . These challenges we endure throughout our lives are what motivates us to cherish the good times and remain hopeful.