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 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God is at Work

Image
In the early morning I was struck with this image. It seems to have it all. Green leaves. Red leaves. Clouds. Blue sky. The cross high and lifted up to the sky. It seemed to me that there was the stuff of several good photos in this one place and at one time. So I took the picture. Life is like that more often than not, isn't it? Good and bad. Happy and sad. Calm and chaos. Peace and turmoil. The season of Advent and the celebration of Christmas acknowledges this reality. The people of old resigned to their fate, yet hoping in the future. John the Baptist bringing the good news that the time had come, yet thundering away at one and all. Mary afraid, yet faithful. A baby is born that changes everything, yet the world remains still weary and violent. But, in the midst of all this, in the midst of the whiplash of everyday life, God is at work. God is present. God is calling. In all of it. In every bit of it. Through it all, God is with us. During these holidays, when joy can be mixed
Read more

Home

Image
  I came across this interesting tree the other morning. I was immediately transported back to my childhood and one of my favorite boyhood books, “My Side of the Mountain”. It was about a boy who went off by himself to live in the woods and to find everything he needed provided by nature. I don’t recall how many times I read that book in my elementary school years, but it was plenty. As I recall, he made his home in a tree that had a natural door, much like this one. I dreamed of following in his footsteps and doing the same in the woods behind my house. I never did. Home comes in all kinds of versions. Opulent mansions. Simple cabins. Modest middle-sized houses. Some people have the amazing ability to create home even when they are without a physical home. There are heroes who keep family together through tough transitions and the hardest of times. They commit to staying connected. They love one another. They are accountable to each other as they lift up the heart of what it means to
Read more

Loving Embrace by Barry Hughes

Image
One of the joys of walking each day is passing my neighbors. I may not know their names, but I feel I know many of them from our shared walks. I have names for them in my head, based on the dogs they walk or at what place on my route I usually pass them each day. I am amazed at how many people seem to be creatures of habit, like myself, walking the same course at the same time every day. I must admit that I do wonder, from time to time, what name they have given me as they pass me every day. On occasion, I see people who are new to me. On this morning I came upon the scene of a woman leaving a house for her walk. Suddenly, two small boys rushed out, barefoot and dressed in pajamas, urging her to wait. She stopped and turned, and with beatific smile embraced both boys and shared a few joyful moments with each. It was a touching and heartwarming sight. I imagined that the woman is grandmother to the boys. She is here visiting and these boys awoke as she walked out the door. They did not
Read more