John Hutchinson
The Paris Kollection Human Elder Bio
John lives in Glencoe, Ontario.
He has been blessed with 75 trips around the sun.
John shares his story for The Paris Kollection:
I was born in Toronto in 1948. My life story outlines how my childhood and early adult life were a constant struggle with anxiety and eventually addiction. Up until fifty-five - sixty years of age, I felt I was defective in some ways compared to normal people. Around sixty years of age horses came into my life. This was totally unexpected as I never once considered this scenario. As I look back now, I realize that these animals have had a profound influence on my very being.
A turning point happened one day when I was working at the farm where we boarded our horse. I was particularly down that day. It was a summer evening, and a thunderstorm was brewing in the distance. There were innumerable flashes of lightning but no rain. At one point, for some reason, I looked up. Seven horses were silhouetted at the top of a ridge. Their sheer joy of being alive was palpable. The expression, a spirited horse flashed through my mind. As a member of a 12-step program, I had struggled with the concept of a spiritual awakening. I had equated this with a God that I had been taught was a stern and punishing God. I believe the horses on the ridge told me that ‘a spiritual awakening’ refers to my inward spirit which I had given up on years before. From that moment I have made every possible effort to remember the horses from that night and honour my spirit.
The horses have continued to be in my life and always guide me to the realization that spirit is what truly matters. My hope for the future is to finally reach a place of peace, a place the horses are guiding me to after a life of fear and catastrophic thinking.
I’m aware now that my life has been a guided journey consisting of lessons leading me toward what is actually real. The challenge has been to accept these lessons instead of explaining them away as coincidental. Today, I am not allowing my doubts and insecurities to prevent me from doing the things I enjoy, such as riding, being with horses, cycling, archery and camping and more.
The impact I wish to leave on people is a realization that our hearts have been touched.
He has been blessed with 75 trips around the sun.
John shares his story for The Paris Kollection:
I was born in Toronto in 1948. My life story outlines how my childhood and early adult life were a constant struggle with anxiety and eventually addiction. Up until fifty-five - sixty years of age, I felt I was defective in some ways compared to normal people. Around sixty years of age horses came into my life. This was totally unexpected as I never once considered this scenario. As I look back now, I realize that these animals have had a profound influence on my very being.
A turning point happened one day when I was working at the farm where we boarded our horse. I was particularly down that day. It was a summer evening, and a thunderstorm was brewing in the distance. There were innumerable flashes of lightning but no rain. At one point, for some reason, I looked up. Seven horses were silhouetted at the top of a ridge. Their sheer joy of being alive was palpable. The expression, a spirited horse flashed through my mind. As a member of a 12-step program, I had struggled with the concept of a spiritual awakening. I had equated this with a God that I had been taught was a stern and punishing God. I believe the horses on the ridge told me that ‘a spiritual awakening’ refers to my inward spirit which I had given up on years before. From that moment I have made every possible effort to remember the horses from that night and honour my spirit.
The horses have continued to be in my life and always guide me to the realization that spirit is what truly matters. My hope for the future is to finally reach a place of peace, a place the horses are guiding me to after a life of fear and catastrophic thinking.
I’m aware now that my life has been a guided journey consisting of lessons leading me toward what is actually real. The challenge has been to accept these lessons instead of explaining them away as coincidental. Today, I am not allowing my doubts and insecurities to prevent me from doing the things I enjoy, such as riding, being with horses, cycling, archery and camping and more.
The impact I wish to leave on people is a realization that our hearts have been touched.
"A spiritual awakening refers to my inward spirit."
When asked what were some of the societal constructs about aging that he would like to see evolve, John shared: I would like to see the rampant consumerism, which is an existential threat, replaced with the realization that it is preventing humanity from proceeding toward its true destination. This for me means a conscious blending of human and spirit. In the past, elders were valued and respected. Their experience and knowledge were considered to be extremely important to the education of future generations. They were also seen as being integral to the family unit and dynamics. In western society today, they are all too often viewed as being of no importance because of their age and infirmities. In the past the family members still connected with their seniors in a mutual exchange of love, respect and connection. The focus was on the family unit not on what material gains could be had.
The Paris Kollection
Embracing and enhancing the passage of time as portrayed through images and stories of our beloved elders,
both equine and human.
Embracing and enhancing the passage of time as portrayed through images and stories of our beloved elders,
both equine and human.