Murals that matter

As I was pondering what to write about this week, this update arrived in my Inbox from Alex Cook, a local artist who has been travelling all over the country for the past several years painting murals like this one:

They say: You are loved. You are beautiful. You are important.

He creates them in public spaces as well as in schools, churches, homeless shelters, and prisons, and community members themselves do the bulk of the painting. I am so inspired by him, and by all of the people who have seen the potential of this project and found walls for him to transform. (Learn more here.)

You are loved. You are beautiful. You are important. 

It is easy to be cynical about words like these, especially when we're not feeling particularly loved or attractive or important. But that doesn't mean they're not true. We simply have a choice whether to let them in or not.

I think it is important to practice letting in words of kindness because they remind us of our value, which in turn helps us to live up to the best of who we can be. And the world needs that right now from each one of us.

You are loved. You are beautiful. You are important. Remind yourself of this in any way you can. And then go out and be amazing.