Pretty soon after moving into this beautiful, old Tenderloin apartment, a mural starting going up kitty-corner from us. I had a clear view from my room, it was magical. Little by little what emerged out of abstract shapes became quite clearly a majestic monarch butterfly perched on a California poppy. About the same time as this mural was unfolding, I was doing my own processing about whether or not I should pursue this art program in Mazatlán.
I remember my mom texting me that the mural could be a sign from God. Well, that would be epic wouldn’t it? So I wracked my brain trying to make sense of it, hunting for some sort of divine answer in it all. Was I emerging from a cocoon in some unrevealed way? Did I need to stay in CA? Was I being called to paint murals!? Nothing really stuck…
And as it usually goes, through the hurts-so-good, excruciating trudge of learning to ultimately step out in faith and out of your comfort zone, I made the decision to say ‘SI’ to this move and now here we are.
About a month later, I looked up the monarch muralist’s instagram and the many posts about this particular TL mural. Well, much to my surprise and humor, I discovered that the mural was titled One Monarch, representing this one animal that unites Canada, the US, and Mexico via migration patterns. *JAW DROP* Of course, literally, right before my eyes, on a daily basis for months was a gorgeous sign of traveling to Mexico in the Winter.