“Graffiti is an impulse to get recognized.”

— Mint&Serf

“Graffiti is one of the few tools you have if you have almost nothing. And even if you don’t come up with a picture to cure world poverty you can make someone smile while they’re having a piss.”

— Banksy

I walked out to the mailbox today. There was graffiti.

Three hours later I drove by our mailbox. There was new graffiti.

Clarion call?

Graffiti divides me.

On one hand, when done well, it can command attention. It can be a clarion call. It can add color to an otherwise bland suburban concrete existence.

On the other hand, it can just be the mark of another dog.

These conflicting thoughts about graffiti relate to a common question about giving time.

I’ve heard many people say you shouldn’t get involved. It’s not worth your trouble. People will turn on you. People don’t need help, you’re just enabling them.

Perhaps, that is true. An offer of help could backfire. An offer of help could be refused. An offer of help could result in a worse situation.

In my experience though, that isn’t the case. As long as I’m thoughtful about how I give my time, and make a genuine effort to understand someone else’s needs, it’s always worked out.

Hindsight is twenty/twenty. Foresight is not. It never is. No matter what we do, it’s always a matter of using your best judgement and taking action. We can’t predict what will happen next.

I don’t know if the graffiti in our neighborhood today was a clarion call or a dog leaving it’s mark.

It looked like the latter.

Today’s “gift” of time – Contacted the authorities to report a little vandalism in our neighborhood.

Yet, I wonder if one man’s vandalism is another man’s art.