Angel Wings

Angel Wings

I was driving through a town in N GA and saw angel wings painted on a building. These large wings, painted on the side of a clothing store, fascinated me. Why were they there? What was the significance?

I walked in the store to ask and the young clerk who said they preceded her, but she thought they had something to do with a fad that was popular for a while.

Digging in more at home, I learned that an artist named Colette Miller started the Global Angel Wings Project in 2012, painting angel wings on public walls in cities worldwide to symbolize freedom, hope and positive thinking. Ms. Miller’s wings were colorful, large and positioned so a person could stand between them and appear to have the wings himself or herself. The wings were intended to inspire and uplift the people who saw them.

The wings, originally painted in Los Angeles, began appearing on buildings around the world and sparked a widespread angel wings phenomenon. Tourists and locals would stand between the wings to have their photos made, imagining they were angels themselves.

The appeal of the wings lay not only in their visual beauty but the symbolism of protection, spirituality, and inspiration they invoked. I imagined myself standing between the wings, promoted to the rank of an angel. Who would I serve as  an angel to today? Where might I make someone’s load lighter?

The angel wings are just a reminder - everyone needs an angel in their lives at some point. Why shouldn’t that angel be me?