There are moments when a city walk requires emotional pauses. Moments when you simply cannot move forward without reconnecting to something greater than yourself.
I began my walk by looking up at the sky, searching for faith. Along the way, the silent saints along the façades watched over me, and an echo rose in my mind, the voice of Martin Luther King Jr., calling us to the mountaintop. A reminder that the vision is bigger than me. From that height, King said he could “see” the future.
In the presence of these silent saints, I felt the same sense of perspective, a calm, elevated view.
But as I continued, I lowered my eyes to the ground, noticing the plaques embedded in the streets. I stopped for a moment, bowing my head, and searched for the words of Desmond Tutu. I could almost hear his voice beside me, gentle, human, unmistakable:
“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”
I took another step. I knew this walk would be long today. Yet I carried Tutu’s reminder with me:
“A person is a person through other people.”
