Feeling Lighter and Brighter...

“I can do things you cannot, You can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” ~ Mother Theresa

I discovered the mural in these pictures not long ago….several blocks from our home in an unlikely part of town.

Art is like that. It pops up in unlikely places, but maybe it shouldn’t be surprising because it’s such a beautiful form of self expression. It’s been said that “the worst of times can make for the best of arts” and history shows this is true. The Great Depression was a great time for American art including photography, architecture, music, paintings and sculpture. Times of hardship often are also times of great vision.

Art is in the eye of the beholder and what appeals to one person, often doesn’t appeal to another. It has however been shown that public art in any form, can be very beneficial to communities for a variety of reasons from simply enriching the environment to starting conversations about important community issues. While this mural is on the side of a heating and air conditioner repair building in a not so great part of town, it is still a form of artistic expression and brightens up an otherwise not so bright street. I’ll admit, that I purposely ride by it sometimes just because it makes me happy that someone gave that gift to our community!

I love the message of unity on the mural at a time when our country is so divided. Faith and fear cannot coexist. We will not come together as long as we are divided because of fear.

“It is sad but true that sometimes we need the tragedy to help us to see how human we are and how we are more alike than we are different.” ~ Maya Angelou

I’m sure everyone by now has heard the beautiful poem by Amanda Gorman, but here it is…just in case!

It’s because being American is more than a price we inherit,

It’s the past we step into

and how we repair it

We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation

rather than share it

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy

And this effort very nearly succeeded

But while democracy can be periodically delayed

it can never be permanently defeated

In this truth

in this faith we trust

For while we have our eyes on the future

history has its eyes on us

This is the era of just redemption

We feared at its inception

We did not feel prepared to be the heirs

of such a terrifying hour

but within it we found the power

to author a new chapter

To offer hope and laughter to ourselves

So while we once asked,

how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?

Now WE assert

How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?

~ Amanda Gorman

Have a great day filled with hope and look forward to a better future for us all!