A ‘Free Way’ Billboard.

Daily writing prompt

If you had a freeway billboard, what would it say?

From The Life of Brian, by Monty Python

If you know me or have read a lot of my posts, you might know that I’m a committed Christian. I don’t talk about it directly as much, because I’m also pretty liberal. Not just that, but almost universalist. Not in that I think ‘anything goes’ but in that I think God or the Divine calls us all to different threads in the tapestry of belief and life.

While I am deeply committed to following Jesus and discovering new depths for what these beliefs mean to my life, I am disgusted by the ways Christian teachings and verses are used against people, whether its used for control, domination, or fear-based conversion. It sort of jolts me into a 180-degree position, wanting to just be against what these billboards say, rather than for something of my own. Well, I want to be more aware of this and use my imaginary billboard for something else. And what I think I’m for is that you are already enough, and your beliefs are good, valid, and needed in the vast tapestry of life.

I like this silly clip from The Life of Brian. But, I’m not an individualist. I don’t actually think we are all separated and unrelated individuals. We all belong to each other. Our needs don’t supersede those of others, and their needs don’t supplant ours. We need to live together in our differences, love together in our differences, and it starts with acknowledging our selves for what and who they are. ‘A long, loving look at the real’ is what we need to first give ourselves.¹ If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot love our neighbors. If we can accept who we are, flaws and all, we can soften our gaze towards the differences and annoyances caused by our neighbors, and actually live and love together.

This sort of time-intensive contemplative transformation doesn’t translate well to an interstate billboard. But for the sake of the exercise, I will try. This is by no means an exhaustive display of my beliefs. Obviously, this is quite a limiting exercise. And I still find the concept of a freeway billboard to be mildly offensive. Perhaps you can see why and how in these images. But regardless, what would you put up to promote love, inclusion, belonging, and acceptance?