The Power Of Chalk

Every day as I go out into the world during these crazy times, I pass by my neighbor's house.  Their kids, doing what kids do, have put a simple, classic message on the sidewalk in chalk.  It says "Don't Worry, Be Happy."

Is it really that simple? 

I don't know but it certainly isn't always that easy.  Especially right now.  I think it's safe to say that we all have a lot of worries right now.  Can we really turn them all off and be happy just because some kids told us to with chalk?  I don't know if I could do that even if Bobby McFerrin himself showed up and told me to.

But I will say this, every time I walk by that house I smile.  I have a moment of peace.  I feel connected to the world and I have a moment of escape as I sing a line or two from that classic song from my youth. 

The chalk is working.

One day the rains came and washed the sidewalk message away.  It created a blank slate on the sidewalk again.  All that hard work those kids had done was gone.  The beautiful colors were gone and the sidewalk was back to it's normal, grey self.  It kind of felt like the hope was gone too.

But none of that seemed to phase these kids one bit.  The very next day they had redone the whole thing.  They recreated the sidewalk almost exactly as it was before the rain.  The message of hope was back.  Brighter and louder than before.

How many of us would do that?  When all our hard work is washed away, it is so easy to give up and say "What's the point?"  We take moments like this so deeply personal.  We let it rob us of our joy and our hope. 

But the truth is it was just a little rain.  Rain always comes.  If you are going to write a message in chalk on the sidewalk, you better be ready to do it again because the rain is coming.  The rain will wash it away eventually.  But if that message is important to you, you can go out and write it down again.  As many times as needed. 

As long as you still have the chalk, you still have the power to make a difference.  No matter how many times it rains, the sun keeps coming out.  When the sun comes out that means it's time for us to grab our chalk and go back to work. 

The world needs us.