The writing on the wall

When I walk, I see little notes left for me by strangers, I begin to see the literal writings on the wall. Impending doom is everywhere, in popular culture, in conversations on the street and in all art forms. Sing it! Dance it! Write it! Scream it- If we go down this road there is no turning back!

If you really slow down to observe the little notes a fascinating dialogue begins to appear. It is an exquisite corpse that tells a story about the human condition. There's a love note on a dirty bathroom stall and a pussy cat on a no entry sign. There is a mocking tag above a mismatched spot of paint on a bridge that says "Oops! Better come paint over me too!" There are stickers of protest; "not my president" or "end Israeli apartheid". Pasted flyers begin to have a conversation; "community cleanup" next to a "graffiti exhibition" and a flyer for LGBTQ+ dance classes question what positive community engagement is. Is it painting the walls white for the nth time? Or is it investing in open dialogue and safe spaces?

The writing on the wall, at least in my worldview, is not meant in the biblical sense; a foreshadowing of inevitable doom or punishment for sinfulness. It is an attempt to jolt! Hey human! You're in the world, my world, your world, our world. Question how you participate in it. Question its systems.

The little notes are almost never coherent... but then again, neither is the world. We are often in spaces where have to shout over each other- not just in an overcrowded bar, but online, in the news and on billboards. A person today requires many sophisticated filters in order to interpret information and to communicate ideas.

I think that the writing on the wall is one such filter even though at first it seems to be clutter. It is outside of the system. It is not as easy as tweeting. Most of them are very witty observations that have gone through a distilling process in order to even be noticed on a busy street. Putting those messages out there requires thought and gusto.

I encourage people to engage in public spaces. It may be volunteering to paint a mural, or putting up political flyers, it may just be taking the time to see the writing on the wall...

...because nothing will ever come of choosing to ignore those messages and the world around us. I mean, choosing to do this is fine. Free will is important. But I will not sit next to you passively taking this ride to nowhere. That is just too damn boring.