I was showering just now when the voice came through: “There is something small in Ghent that wants to be shared.  Find it.”

Okay.

***

Now it’s hours later.  An image came into my head of a statue inset into a brick wall – Mother Mary and Jesus.  I’ve wandered there many times and felt my eyes lift to the love.

Mother and child are on Karmelietenstraat in the Patershol, only two minutes from me.  They watch over us – locals and tourists – as we pass by.  I expect most of us don’t feel the blessing.  Perhaps the beauty of the cobblestones takes us, or the daily grind is grinding us down.

Mary and baby Jesus don’t analyze the quality of the visitors.  All are loved … languages, personalities, ages, clothing choices, sexual orientations.  “Come close everyone.”

Karmelietenstraat is also small.  One could say “ordinary” but I think not.  What are those cobbles saying?  Who is the woman walking away?  Does she bleed like me?  Does she cry and laugh and fall to sleep in the wee hours?  Yes.

Distances dissolve.  The world of solid things crumbles at the edges.  The lines of separation disappear as the Karmelietenstraat glows.

“It’s just a wall,” someone says.  No … that’s not true.  There are secrets inside.  Sometimes small.  Always vivid.

***

And now it’s time again to go out and see what’s there