Trust Your Struggle…

Last summer, Ghislaine and I were at the end of our rope.  We needed a release valve from the daily grind, pressures and monotony of life in RI, but we were pretty much financially strapped.  I don’t want to say broke, but we were barely squeezing by.  Most of the side gigs and workshops had dried up, and there weren’t many prospects.  Despite this fact, we chose to take a leap of faith trip down to Atlanta to check out some new scenery/vibes.  In the back of our minds were the bills and problems that piled, but in the front of our mind was the possibility of higher ground.  Deep down, we believed that there was something out there waiting for us if we were only ‘brave’ enough to break free from our surroundings.

So, we packed the car and drove.  Then, out of the blue, somewhere about 5-6 hours down the road (in the middle of Pennsylvania), I got a voicemail from CCRI (Community College of RI) about a job opportunity as an English instructor for the fall semester.  Financial problems/worries solved (at least temporarily).  We could now enjoy the entire trip without any concerns about what was waiting for us when we returned.  This incident was the beginning of our affirmation(s) that when you move in faith, good things happen.  We have learned to trust our inner feelings more in life, and we have been rewarded every time. With faith, all things are possible.

During our time in Atlanta, we checked out several spots.  One of the places we went to was called Little 5 Points.  While walking around the area, we passed by an interesting piece of writing on the corner of a wall on a side street of one of the main throughways.  The writing on the wall said, “TRUST YOUR STRUGGLE.”  The writing stopped me in my tracks, and I asked Ghislaine to take a picture next to the wall (see below).

Fast-forward to today (August 20, 2009).  We arrived in Austin yesterday evening, and our first stop this afternoon was a place called Victory Grill – a historic landmark of the old chitlin’ circuit.  Blues and jazz luminaries such as B.B. King made stops into this place on their way to becoming national recording artists.  In fact, B.B. King played there one night for tips on his way up to Memphis for a show.  Talk about GRINDING!  That’s right y’all!  B.B. King himself played for tips at a small chitlin’ circuit club in Austin!

We ended up hanging out at the Victory Grill for about an hour, speaking with Clifford, the current managar/chef/booking agent/everything-else at the Grill.  During our conversation, Clifford told us about the rich history of the Grill.  He also told us that a group of artists came down from New York City to paint a mural on the outside of the building last summer (the same summer Ghislaine and I traveled to Atlanta).

Guess what the name of the group was?

That’s right…TRUST YOUR STRUGGLE.

It turns out the group is an artists collective that paints murals around the world (the image at the beginning of this post is from Colombia — shout out to Norman Ospina!).  Not sure when they painted those words down in Atlanta, but we felt them for sure.

We no longer believe in coincidences.  Trust your struggle!

LOVe!

jbro