The bubble gum wall

Seattle has alot of unique attractions,

but I don't think any of them are quite as unique

as this bubble gum wall at Pike Place Market.

We loaded up a bag of bubble gum and
went to visit this unusual place
and to leave our mark
this past weekend.


I couldn't help but notice the creativity that was displayed
by something as unappealing as a piece of chewed gum.
It was almost pretty in a way and definitely
an improvement on sticking your gum
underneath a restaurant table...
which seems to be the number two most popular place
to stick your gum in Seattle, according to Bren
who regularly checks and reports
whenever we are seated at a table.


While marveling at how so many pieces of gum had
come to congregate in one place,
it hit me.
This bubble gum wall is like life
or more specifically,
family life.
It is the equivalent of making lemonade out of lemons
and turning something mundane and undesirable
into a work of art that brings a smile
and draws people in.



The transparency of sticking all of your flaws out there
alongside the flaws of everyone else
is the true beauty.
It's accepting all the various colors
of used up, worn out, formally flavorful sticky wads
and creating a mosaic of imperfection
that ends up being strangely perfect.
A wall of flaws that is actually
very alluring
and quite a crowd pleaser!


Obviously I've stuck the chewed up pieces of my own
little family of six
squarely on the brick wall of life
and so many of you have reached out and
encouraged me by sticking your own
unsavory experience right beside mine
and together we made something
captivating
that opened my eyes to the beauty
in my undesirable and unwanted distress.



A couple dozen discarded pieces of gum would never
have been able to jump the gap
between the ordinary
and the extraordinary!
All of us have distasteful and even repulsive
things happen to us or by us,
but it's when we come together
in vulnerability and honesty
to comfort, enliven and inspire
that the real artistry
is emblazoned
on life's otherwise generic
red brick wall.

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