Welcome by Barry Hughes



What a pleasant surprise when, on my walk today, I came upon this message. It seems that after a long, long hiatus at least one of my neighborhood sidewalk artists is emerging from retirement and seclusion. I hope they are the first of many. I hope they will be back at their creative work with the same energy that flowed so freely in the first weeks of this bizarre season. I hope their work brings them as much joy as it brings me.

For some reason, my favorite sidewalk messages seem to always contain a misspelled word or unintentional aspect of humor. I am sure this reveals both my love for the honesty of the artist, as well as my somewhat quirky view of life. For whatever reason, these not so perfect messages make me smile a not so perfect smile in this far from perfect world.

This welcome sign was, indeed, a welcome sight. Besides hopefully marking a comeback of the neighborhood artists, it captured my attention because it stood oddly alone. In the past I would have expected this to welcome me to a long, elaborate chalk path full of challenges and fun activities, or to a depiction of the family who lives in the house, complete with pets and a list of first names.

But this was a generic “welcome”. Just “welcome”. I wondered what was in the young artist’s head. Were they awaiting the arrival of company, perhaps the first visitor to their home since this pandemic began? Were they inviting me back into a new season of their creativity? Perhaps they were just welcoming the new day, a fresh start, a new attitude of hope and anticipation for the future. I wonder.

Whatever the backstory to the work, it served as a reminder that each day itself welcomes us to a new beginning. In the midst of our lives of misspelled words, disappointment and uncertainty, we are constantly welcomed into new possibilities. We do not have to remain the same. We do not have to accept the idea that the world must remain the same. We can accept the invitation and welcome the new.

What if we all chose to welcome this new day as a day of wide open possibilities?  What if we dreamed with renewed hope? What if we worked for justice and peace with passion and energy? What if we loved others without hesitation or fear? What if we let others love us, welcoming the chance to be truly known for who we are, misspelled words and all?
I’d love to find out.

Peace.

By Barry Hughes 

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