the writing on the wall

last week the creative team was doing research for Christmas and our creative director led us to something called 'wall projection'. basically, it is 3-D projection overlaying a wall or building. the artist maps out the exact dimension and picture of the wall or building, and then creates imagery that will make it appear that the wall is morphing into something else before our very eyes.

now, i'm going to share how my mind works, so bare with me for a second...it'll all connect in just a minute.

this larger then life advertisement captivated hundreds as they watched, and then hundreds of thousands more on youtube. the building-sized creative canvas began with a vision of life that opened us: laughter, spontaneity, imagination, wonder, curiosity etc. and then as we began to dream, there written on the wall was "there's more to life than a volvo." just as we were getting lost in the glorious expansion of something bigger then ourselves, we were sucker-punched . . . we were being sold a volvo.

when i saw the sucker-punch art it took me back to a song line from the simon & garfunkel classic, sound of silence i.e. "the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls". the song references the historical Hebrew stories of 4 jewish men who are commanded to bow down to an idol that the wicked king of babylon, Nebuchadnezzar and later his son Belshazzar, has created to display their absolute power. though the entire nation of babylon bows--literally--before these idols, the 4 Hebrew men, Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego refuse to do so...and are thrown into pre-modern extermination chambers (a lion's den and a fiery furnace). but that's just where the story gets really interesting, because God rescues each of the men and issues a sentence against the evil kings of babylon by writing on the wall of the king's palace (read it here).

have you ever heard that phrase "the writing on the wall"? that's where it comes from. what's interesting is that simon & garfunkel bring this pre-modern story into a current setting, as if, in a sense God's words are still being written on the subway walls, and in the case of this volvo ad, on the side of a building.

look at simon & garfunkel's lyrics:

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the signs said the words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sounds of silence

more than 2000 years after babylon's evil kings forced nations to bow down and worship golden idols, we are still being bombarded with images and messages that call us to give our money, our time, our attention...to a product, to a company, through a "neon god" made by human hands. and these days this happens more than ever during the holiday season. the promise? if we buy this car, this object, this ideal, we'll have a better life.

yes, my brain is strange...connecting an incredibly creative wall art advertisment, a s & g classic, and a couple thousand year old story from scripture...but what's even more strange is that we spend so much of our time watching a neon image tell us what we want/need, all-the-while knowing those things won't give us what they promise.

it's not true monty. don't buy the lie. . .literally, don't buy the lie. slow down, waste time allowing your soul to sit still instead of zoning out in front of the techno glow. allow for the possibility that there is a God who is not made by human hands, who can still be heard beneath the never endng white noise of the tv, and the chaotic pace of holiday consumption.

go slow, open up your spirit monty. there is a word of hope waiting, quietly whispering, "stop the rush...soak in the sounds of silence."