It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget what really matters to you. After I lost someone I loved very much, I thought about death a lot. This helped clarify my life, the people I want to be with, and the things I want to do, but I struggled to maintain perspective. I wondered if other people felt the same way. So with help from old and new friends, I painted the side of an abandoned house in my neighborhood in New Orleans with chalkboard paint and stenciled it with a grid of the sentence “Before I die I want to _______.” Anyone walking by could pick up a piece of chalk, reflect on their lives, and share their personal aspirations in public space.It was an experiment and I didn’t know what to expect. By the next day, the wall was bursting with handwritten responses and it kept growing: Before I die I want to… sing for millions, hold her one more time, eat a salad with an alien, see my daughter graduate, abandon all insecurities, plant a tree, straddle the International Date Line, be completely myself… People’s responses made me laugh out loud and they made me tear up. They consoled me during my toughest times. I understood my neighbors in new and enlightening ways, and the wall reminded me that I’m not alone as I try to make sense of my life.
This was turned into...
After receiving many requests, my friends and I created a toolkit and the project site beforeidie.cc to help people make a wall with their community. You can also download all files for free to remix or create your own stencils. Thanks to passionate people, over 100 Before I Die walls have now been created in over 10 languages and in over 30 countries, including Kazakhstan, Portugal, Japan, Denmark, Australia, Argentina, and South Africa. They have been a constant source of inspiration and therapy for me. Each wall is unique and reflects the people of that community. Each wall is a tribute to living an examined life.
This. Amazing, just amazing.
View more images and rest of this wonderful story, HERE.
No doubt, I'll be hunting down a few of these buildings during my September visit.
And so it goes.
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Excellent Read this morning! Have you ever thought about a column in the local paper!
ReplyDelete@Roger: I have never thought of myself as a "writer" as I take liberties with language and punctuation, and probably annoy people I write just the way a talk.
ReplyDelete@Mermaid: So, I guess it's history now, huh? Well, as you say, it's on the Web forever now. BTW, I am coming home in September for a short visit with friends and the sister. I'm staying in a hotel in the quarter (don't know which, yet) and maybe we could meet for a drink, if you're free.
Thanks for the visit guys.
cool !
ReplyDelete