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There are a lot of ways the people around us
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can help improve our lives.
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We don't bump into every neighbor,
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so a lot of wisdom never gets passed on,
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though we do share the same public spaces.
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So over the past few years, I've tried ways to share more
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with my neighbors in public space,
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using simple tools like stickers, stencils and chalk.
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And these projects came from questions I had, like,
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how much are my neighbors paying for their apartments?
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(Laughter) How can we lend and borrow more things
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without knocking on each other's doors at a bad time?
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How can we share more of our memories
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of our abandoned buildings,
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and gain a better understanding of our landscape?
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And how can we share more of our hopes
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for our vacant storefronts, so our communities
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can reflect our needs and dreams today?
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Now, I live in New Orleans,
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and I am in love with New Orleans.
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My soul is always soothed by the giant live oak trees,
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shading lovers, drunks and dreamers
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for hundreds of years, and I trust a city
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that always makes way for music. (Laughter)
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I feel like every time someone sneezes,
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New Orleans has a parade. (Laughter)
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The city has some of the most beautiful architecture
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in the world, but it also has one of the highest amounts
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of abandoned properties in America.
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I live near this house, and I thought about how I could
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make it a nicer space for my neighborhood,
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and I also thought about something
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that changed my life forever.
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In 2009, I lost someone I loved very much.
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Her name was Joan, and she was a mother to me,
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and her death was sudden and unexpected.
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And I thought about death a lot,
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and
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this made me feel deep gratitude for the time I've had,
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and
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brought clarity to the things that are meaningful
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to my life now.
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But I struggle to maintain this perspective in my daily life.
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I feel like it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day,
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and forget what really matters to you.
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So with help from old and new friends,
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I turned the side of this abandoned house
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into a giant chalkboard and stenciled it
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with a fill-in-the-blank sentence:
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"Before I die, I want to ... "
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So anyone walking by can pick up a piece of chalk,
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reflect on their lives, and share their personal aspirations
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in public space.
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I didn't know what to expect from this experiment,
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but by the next day, the wall was entirely filled out,
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and it kept growing.
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And I'd like to share a few things
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that people wrote on this wall.
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"Before I die, I want to be tried for piracy." (Laughter)
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"Before I die, I want to straddle the International Date Line."
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"Before I die, I want to sing for millions."
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"Before I die, I want to plant a tree."
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"Before I die, I want to live off the grid."
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"Before I die, I want to hold her one more time."
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"Before I die, I want to be someone's cavalry."
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"Before I die, I want to be completely myself."
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So this neglected space became a constructive one,
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and people's hopes and dreams
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made me laugh out loud, tear up,
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and they consoled me during my own tough times.
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It's about knowing you're not alone.
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It's about understanding our neighbors
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in new and enlightening ways.
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It's about making space for reflection and contemplation,
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and remembering what really matters most to us
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as we grow and change.
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I made this last year, and started receiving
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hundreds of messages from passionate people
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who wanted to make a wall with their community,
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so my civic center colleagues and I made a tool kit, and now
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walls have been made in countries around the world,
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including Kazakhstan, South Africa,
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Australia,
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Argentina and beyond.
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Together, we've shown how powerful our public spaces
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can be if we're given the opportunity to have a voice
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and share more with one another.
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Two of the most valuable things we have are time
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and our relationships with other people.
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In our age of increasing distractions,
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it's more important than ever to find ways to maintain
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perspective and remember that life is brief and tender.
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Death is something that we're often discouraged
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to talk about or even think about, but
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I've realized that preparing for death
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is one of the most empowering things you can do.
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Thinking about death clarifies your life.
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Our shared spaces can better reflect what matters to us
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as individuals and as a community,
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and with more ways to share our hopes, fears and stories,
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the people around us can not only help us
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make better places, they can help us lead better lives.
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Thank you. (Applause)
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(Applause)
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Thank you. (Applause)
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(Applause)
