More than ever, there's a need for hope.
Global hope. National hope.
Cultural hope. Local hope.
Where can these expressions of human willpower be found? How, now, in these times of isolation and anger, confusion and chaos, can the clearly lit beacon of collective spirit be basked in?
I went looking for it in Albuquerque, New Mexico, starting my journey on a quiet street off of Central Ave; a lone wolf hungry for connection in an urban wilderness.
I searched for pride and partnership in the glistening faces of construction workers lit by the mid-summer sun. I saw exhaustion and perseverance in the eyes of a Hospital groundskeeper, his mask a thin veil between life and death. The eerie wordlessness of the employees and patients spoke a silent story of knowledge; that health is a fragile force.
I continued past on-ramps and under bridges, straddling the line between places meant for people and spaces meant for cars; it can be difficult to find humanity in all the hard surfaces... but it's there. While uniquely bittersweet, the act of wandering anonymously on foot in America is usually interrupted by interactions we're taught are "to be avoided". Glances, nods, hand waves or hollers. Whatever the gesture, if it comes from a person that appears to be homeless or high, it is best to be ignored. To me, as a traveler through a foreign environment, that prospect is suspect at best.
Does one travel to Japan and ignore the inevitable interactions with people who call the place home? Of course not. Why then, when we shift our focus to a much more micro scale -- such as that of an American downtown -- should we ignore the people who know the place best, day and night, rain or shine, hot or cold?
These are the faces that are formed by and help to form the concept of place. They tell a story that history books can not. Much like the buildings that surround them, the people and their wrinkles, dreams and voices, are an ephemeral reflection of where in the world you may find yourself being. And no matter where that ‘here’ may be, as long as you look, hope can be found, focused on, and even talked to.
