Universal Love is flowing,

Where is 2008 running to? Time has really sped up. Here we are practically in the middle of the second month and I just celebrated New Years yesterday.

Belize recently suffered the loss of one of our musical icon’s Andy Palacio. He was to Belize what Bob Marley was to Jamaica. He was Garifuna. The Garifuna are Africans who made their way here to Belize after being shipwrecked during slavery and linked with the Caribs. Andy had played at Harbourfront, Toronto, Canada in 2007 as part of his world tour promoting the music and culture of the Garifuna people with his acclaimed Watina CD. In the last year he won many, many awards including UNESCO’S award for Peace. Andy was the first Belizean artist I spoke to when I came to Belize fifteen years ago as he hawked his CD’s in the airport. When I moved here in 2004 he again was the first person who sat and spoke with me on how I should go about breaking into the Belizean Visual Art Scene. I had just spoken with Andy the week before, and he was willing to help me raise awareness and funds for my foundation. He is now with the ancestors, and watching on. If you can get hold of “Watina” his last CD, it is well worth a listen.

The school children that I teach each week are working hard, getting ready for education week in May. Right now they are working on wood tree sculptures, Macramé wall and pot hangers, and learning to do basic silk screen, to put on cards and T-shirts. We hope to auction off the sculptured trees to raise funds to continue the art projects and art center. There are lots of exciting things planned for the Winsom Foundation and Winsom Art Center.

We have been blessed to share a handyman/ gardener with one of our neighbors, and he has literally transformed our place over night. He works two days a week for us, and is a self-starter and has a lot of suggestions of how to enhance our place. We have finally started our vegetable garden in the fenced in plot he created. All we need are a couple of chickens and a horse and we’ll be set plus our own water well and maybe an oil well or two. Marlene and I had been looking for someone for a while, and the universe sent him to us. I give thanks.

The country is all geared up for general elections of February 7^th 2008, and it looks like it will be a close race between the ruling Peoples United Party and the United Democratic Party which are the country’s two main parties. I know that calm and peace will be the rule of the day. Time will soon tell who will be leading the Country of Belize.

Life is Beautiful, Blessings from Ocean Spirit Fire Temple in Cristo Rey Village surrounded by many, many Pyramids of the Mayan Dynasty of Belize.