Niska

Analyzing the darkness does not give you more light.

Choose your own road if you want to reach your own destination.

Do not wait for your deliverance. You are your own liberation.

Everyone dies, but few truly live.

A giant tree can not grow without its roots.

Let your star shine brightly and carry your most audacious visions.

Life is not a race - Supreme Master Ching Hai.

Life is not something to win but an instant to be...

Make somebody happy today, mind your own business.

Personal power is the art of radiating joy in spite of adversity.

Spirituality is the art of mastering oneself.

The suffering of your soul indicates it's time to change your ways of thinking.

There are signs everywhere to help you find your path.

There is a place inside yourself where you know the truth exist.

There is no road to happiness: happiness is the road.

To be a painter is the only way I knew not to die - (Niska).

To love the other is to want them happy their own way.

Tomorrow will be what our children feel today.

When you no longer fear dying, you can start living.

You are the unique guardian of your soul.

You are the unique light in the infinite to illuminate my soul when the vast darkness rages.

You try to get even but God is odd.

The worse error is no errors at all.

Spiritualy is the art of mastering oneself.

Spiritual Masters, and Niska’s Journey of Light

Niska once considered abandoning painting forever. At a crossroads in his life, Niska questioned
his purpose to paint. Then he encountered a spiritual master, followed by others on his path.

Brother Gagnon was a humble Oblate and a role model of unconditional kindness to Niska for more than sixty years. Early on, realizing that Niska was a poor and hungry student in Ottawa, he made sure that fresh bread and milk would discreetly appear at the door of his dorm room almost daily. Niska’s first van to transport his painting supplies and canvases was supplied by brother Gagnon’s community at his insistence. Brother Gagnon made sure it was fitted with a brand new set of tires and battery.

Before passing away in his late eighties, Brother Gagnon gave his pewter crucifix to Niska and Elona. Hanging on a simple leather cord, worn down from years of prayer and meditation, this gift, symbolizing his religious life, was given with loving acceptance.

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