Suzanne reflects on Clowning & Caring in Costa Rica

It was a late evening in August 2015, I was sitting outside in San Jose, Costa Rica, in an open space. It was late and dark. We were about 20 people listening to Patch Adams.

My 23-year-old son was there, with my teenager girl. I knew I was at the right place, at the right moment. I was 53 years old then and I felt the meaning of my life. I felt I knew but I could not explain. Only, that trip was THE BEGINNING.

The following day, 30 clowns all dressed up, visited a hospital full of children. I saw my 2 kids, smiling and giving love to people they never saw before. I saw a little girl looking at us with such light in her eyes, I just kept on smiling….And smiling and she kept on smiling at me with stars in her lovely eyes.

Wherever we would go, people smile at us because of our weird outfit, our red nose. Wherever we would go, we share smiles and laughter.

We share something directly from our soul all week. With the elderly, at the psychiatric, at La Carpio, or the hospital, one action was important: share a smile, an authentic smile from our heart with a red nose and a ridiculous outfit.

When I came back, I had one wish: keep on smiling and sharing. So couple of times I join a group of huggers at a really busy corner street of Downtown Montreal.

Then I visited a special school with unique children. And because I realized that some children are asking for a real performance, I registered in a clowning school. Because I lived so much smiling action I start working with the street people, giving them clothes and food.

Some people from my day job, join me to help the street people. And because I meet a lot of clown at my Costa Rica trip, with my daughter we left for Mexico City
during the spring break. We stayed at a clown’s friend and did some amazing clowning at the hospital and buses…and the street.

And because I love clowning and sharing, I submit a project to an amazing organization in Montreal to help kids and family, and my project was accepted: work on an art project to help the kids to stay off the street and reach their highest potential.

I still work full time at my day job, but I assure you, my activities define who I am. The good news is that I can use my day job to help me reach my goal in my LOVE mission. And it works.
Since my first clowning trip, my life change completely because I meet LOVE, the real one, the one from soul to soul, the one with no expectation, the one that gives because I have so much, and that’s a gift. I’m a touched soul and I’m grateful.

Thank you Patch Adams for letting me live to my highest potential, thank you for your clowning trip that awakens my one hundred percent human fibre.

I knew this trip would be the beginning of something great…and it is, one day at a time.

-Suzanne Boire (Costa Rica Clown Trip 2015)

Learn More about Clowning & Caring in Costa Rica!