Candy Chang, a public installation artist, created this beautiful art installation called “Before I Die…” in New Orleans. Here is what she has to say about it:
With a lot of support from old and new friends, I turned the side of an abandoned house in my neighborhood into a giant chalkboard where residents can write on the wall and remember what is important to them in life. Before I Die transforms neglected spaces into constructive ones where we can learn the hopes and aspirations of the people around us.
Whenever the board gets filled up, they wash it clean so more can write on it. They are documenting all answers and might release a book with them. Definitely go read the whole thing!
What I like so much about this is the opportunity it provides to reflect on our values and sense of purpose. The placement in NOLA, in the midst of so much destruction, highlights the hope that our lives still hold promise, and that we have choices to make about how we use the resources we do have.
The desires written on this project reflect our altruism; one person writes “save a life” while another writes “make a difference.” Others affirm community, such as “see my daughter graduate” while another writes “understand.” Still others are about having fun and traveling, which affirm the goodness of the world around us. Our hopes, dreams, and aspirations are all gifts from God. We often want to deny them, out of fear of failure (or sometimes, if we really look deep, we find that we are actually afraid of success!).
I strongly believe these desires come from God; I believe they are gifts that show us what our purpose is. They help us discern just who we have been created to be. The pitfall here is to get very specific with our desire. The reality of life is that sometimes our specific desires—to get married for example, or to enter a particular career—do not come to fruition. But this does not mean that God has turned away from us, that our desires are not important. What we need to do is look deeper. Was the desire for marriage the cover for the deeper desire for intimacy? For trusting relationships? For fidelity? How can these desires be manifest in other relationships besides marriage?
So, what would you write on this wall? What is the deep desire underneath that? And what does this tell you about your purpose?