Be You by Barry Hughes

I love this new trend of painting rocks and leaving messages around for walkers and other passers by that, up until now, I had only heard about. Today, my walk brought me an encounter with this beautifully painted stone. Left randomly near the sidewalk, it caught my eye by both the vibrant colors and the succinct message, “Be You”.

Oscar Wilde wrote, “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” I don’t know if this neighborhood artist is familiar with the great writer, but I would sure like to think so. Either way, it is good advice for anyone on any day: “Be You”.

We humans are certainly interesting creatures. We share a common planet. Across all cultures we hold common dreams of love and relationships and opportunity. We share in common a tenuous existence, vulnerable to fear and sickness and death. We share common aspirations to know what lies beyond our sight and grasp. In this present moment in time, we share this common experience of pandemic.

Yet with all we share in common we are, at the same time, wonderfully unique. We bring our own gifts to the world. We put our unique twist on our dreams. We see the world through eyes no one else has and we have words to speak that only we can share. It is this uniqueness of our “you” that fills the world with great literature and great music and great art. It is also this uniqueness of “you” that fills the world with the best of life everyday in countless small ways that make a big difference.

I am thankful for those whose unique “you” has made a difference across the ups and downs of my own journey. I can picture your face, and I smile. I have endured difficult times and did not feel alone. I have questioned my worth as a person and been sustained by your love. The “you” in you has been a great gift.

I wonder who might need me to be “me”, to be that unique person for them? Could it be that I, in my own way, might bring love into the life of another? Could it be that something about me might bring a glimmer of hope or a taste of joy? Might my stumbling words be the poetry they long to hear or my heavily accented voice music to their ears? For the life of me, I can’t imagine how, but who knows? But I do know this, I would hate to miss the opportunity to be that gift to someone, to anyone, today.

Peace.