FINDING BEAUTY IN THE BROKEN PLACES

I just saw a wonderful little piece in the NICE NEWS email of the day. (If you’re interested in reading some of the good things people are doing in the world, see today@nicenews.com.)

 

As I quickly scanned the day’s features, there was a piece on the Hollywood sign in L.A. being painted for its 100th birthday, a heading about the UK’s success with a 4-day work week, and the post of the day headlined John Cena, for his record-breaking efforts with the Make-a-Wish Foundation. I smiled. Isn’t it great to see a celebrity in the news for something as good as making terminal children’s dreams come true? 

Then, this lovely photo of a mosaic on the street caught my eye. Literally, on the street! 

The photo itself is artistically perfect, with autumn leaves blown along the curb and a crack in the pavement, with bright colors in circular designs fitted perfectly between.  I blinked twice to see if the decorative tiles were real or some sort of eye-catching hoax. We certainly don’t expect to see such glorious art lying on the street in this day and age.

Sure enough, the article describes an anonymous artist in Lyons, France who repairs potholes with lovely mosaics!  

He is known simply as Ememem, not to be confused with Eminem, the American rapper.  This man calls himself a bitumender referencing the bitumen substance in the pavement. What a wonderful craft, this poet in pavement has created for himself. I checked out his website and discovered a few more inspiring photos of his creations. 

He says that from the time he started, he knew he would be doing this for the rest of his life. What we view as a major nuisance, the bane of our driving existence, this man comes along and sees a place where he can make a difference.  

 

I am so greatly inspired by the notion that one artist can lighten up his whole city with a message of such transformative beauty.  He found opportunity in the very places that are crying out for repair. And he did it by tapping into a God-given ability to bring color and beauty into the broken places. 

 

What a plan! What a passion!  What inspiration for all who pass by! I’m sure that from now on, tourists will come to seek out the map of his workmanship and photograph them all.  

That Hollywood sign (described in the same email this morning) was originally erected for a small piece of real estate but grew to represent an entire culture. It has become one of the most recognized American landmarks of all time, but no one ever expected it to last 100 years. 

 

I think Ememem’s art will grow and inspire pedestrians as well as artists around the world, maybe for the next hundred years.   

This story begs the question, how do you see the problems around you?  More importantly, how can you use your God-given abilities to make them better?

Sometimes we feel overwhelmed. There are millions of displaced people. Hungry children. Victims of war and abuse.  What difference can I, little ole me, make in this broken world?

But this brief item in the morning news truly encouraged me. Of course one man can’t line every street with art in a lifetime, but maybe he can still make a big difference. This man is filling a lot of the gaping eyesores, like open wounds in our hurting world. He's doing his part in life, one horrible little pothole at a time!

K Low Deloge