The Trash We Pass

     When I walk around New York City I look at my surroundings but I don’t really notice them. The difference between these two things is important. I can see what is around me, like a building, cars, and people, but I do not notice them in their context or analyze their parts.

     When this project began I wanted to simply stumble upon something religious. I wanted the experience to be organic, rather than me going out and hunting for something religious throughout Manhattan and the neighboring boroughs. I did not think that I would see anything religious on my normal walks, and it seemed that when I changed my initial task of organically finding this object to hunting for it, the assignment became more difficult. I could not seem to find anything I deemed suitable to submit, so again I stopped looking. Then, one day on my way to Shake Shack on 77^th street, I stumbled upon something religious.

     When I saw the object, I didn’t think it was anything of meaning; it was a piece of trash that was thrown on the floor. In all honesty I thought it was either a casino ticket or a ticket from a play that someone had thrown on the street because it was trash. I had seen this object shortly after returning from a trip home, where I gambled at a local casino whose slot machine’s cash voucher has a gold emblem on the back, so this image was fresh on my mind. Being a fast walker, I passed it right by, but wanting to see if it was a cash out voucher and to what casino it belonged, I decided to take a second look at the paper. To my surprise, this piece of garbage was not a casino ticket or a ticket from a play, but rather a piece of paper with a photo of Jesus on it. It was just a small paper, folded in half with the side that had Jesus on it facing up perfectly. It had no words on it that I could see, and it was tattered from being stepped on. The picture of Jesus had him in the forefront wearing a beige gown with a gold glowing halo above his head. His right hand was held up, while his left hand seemed to be holding something close to his body. I was not near a church, so finding it on this random street was surprising. It had been passed by like the trash it was disguised as, but its interaction with the environment and its new purpose was intriguing to me.  

   I have heard before that people look up for inspiration, down in desperation, and left and right for information. Now while this saying is referring to students cheating on exams, it is also applicable to life, particularly the first half of the saying. In my experience I tend to look up to the sky for answers, hoping that the Gods, the universe, or something else will provide me with the answers I seek, but when I am defeated I tend to look down. Applying this model to the majority of people is in part how I analyzed the object I stumbled upon. It was a piece of trash, meaning that most people were going to pass it by, especially those who were not looking down in desperation. It was on the ground directly in the center of the sidewalk, so you would most likely see it from a distance if you walked on this path. If someone was desperate or defeated, and looking down on their walk to their destination, they would be able to clearly see the image of Jesus on it and I believe it would have some sort of impact on them (assuming they are of the Christian faith). It would be the sign they needed, but weren’t searching for. I liked that it was subtle, only to be seen by those who really tried or noticed, and those who were looking down defeated. When I saw it, it was freely moving in the wind. While I could have picked it up to further investigate what it was exactly, I decided to leave it where it was because I felt that it was not meant for me; it was a sign meant for someone else who was in desperate need of it. Whoever it was meant for could take it as the sign they needed and pick it up, or they could leave it for someone else. This piece of paper’s mobility was extremely important to me because trash in New York City tends to travel; it can fly up in the air, across streets, up buildings, and reach any number of new destinations all dependent on where the wind takes it. This meant that by leaving it on the street it could to travel to any number of places and reach any number of people.

               Upon analyzing this object, I was reminded of William James’s definition of religion in his work, The Varieties of Religious Experience. He states,

Religion, therefore, as I now ask you arbitrarily to take it, shall mean for us the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine (27).

I was reminded of this, because for some people this may have little significance, while for others it could be a sign of hope or a trigger for a larger religious experience. Some may see it as mere coincidence, while others may deem it to be an indication of the truth of whatever they consider the divine. No matter how you take it, it is not up to you to decide to what others deem it to be, and if it so happens that others deem it to be religious and have meaning, then there is no harm in listening to their points of view.

               I believe that most people would simply pass by this piece of trash on the floor and not give it a second glance, but I did. Perhaps most ironically is that I saw this religious symbol while assuming it was a relic from an institution that depends on the sinful nature of greed and selfishness: a casino.