Credit: @hijackart
I was wandering down Melrose two weeks ago when a mural demanded my attention. "From The Dirt A Flower Must Grow" it read. I suddenly forgot where I was headed and just gazed at the mural. Like a moth to a flame, I couldn't look away.
It had been a stressful day. I had finished an AM interview with an artist in Huntington Park and was craving a nap more than a coffee. The interview had gone well, but as I sat in traffic on the 405 trying to get back to West Hollywood, all I could do was stare at the rows of car on the freeway. It was a metaphor for life that was mocked me during every painstaking minute that I felt the car stop and go. Stop and go. Stop, and we-aren't-fucking-going-anywhere-anytime-soon.
Being an entrepreneur is a complete roller coaster ride. You buckle up and just hope you don't lose your lunch. The highs are exhilarating, filled with "pinch me" moments. The lows are filled with self doubt, banging your head against a wall as you see the bills pile up. Everything feels stuck just like the very traffic I was sitting in.
I suddenly remember a book my Grandmother's gave me many moons ago. The author quoted Joan of Arc, "I am not afraid... I was born to do this" in the dedication. What I would do to be plucked from that car and return to being that 10-year-old girl holding that book, as my Grandmother knitted and sipped tea in between stitches.
When that long car ride finally came to an end, I found myself there on Melrose, greeted by this mural. Maybe it's tacky to believe in signs, but if there was a time to believe, this would be it. This mural was as refreshing as a tall glass of water. It was a gift from an optimist. His positivity smacked me upside the head. It was a sign to keep my head up. "From The Dirt A Flower Must Grow." I read the words aloud. "Fuck it!" I thought. "I'm going to hit the ground running!"
Thank you, HiJack! You can check out more of his work on Instragram (@hijackart).
