San Mateo woman creates wall to bring community together
SAN MATEO (KPIX) -- The past two years have been tough on everyone in one way or another.
Amie Tyler created a community healing wall and placed it in downtown San Mateo.
"The point of this wall is, really, to focus on collective healing and everything that we've all been through during the pandemic," she said. "To help us collectively heal and release some of the heaviness we've been carrying."
People are encouraged to post their thoughts on the wall. There are four chalkboards -- two for grief and loss and two for gratitude and hope.
"The idea behind it is to kind of 'do a cycle.' What we've lost during the pandemic and, as you walk around the wall, really, ending in gratitude and appreciation," she said. "It's really kind of a journey around the wall."
Tyler, who has her own integrative healing business, says she has been moved by how many people have written their thoughts and feelings on the wall.
"Over 5,000 notes in just a few weeks," she said. "I didn't expect to be so moved. I also didn't expect to laugh so much. There's a lot of humor in the wall."
Some people just stop and stare. Others decide to let their thoughts guide the chalk.
Tyler is hopeful people will take a moment to come by and reflect.
"We're not alone in our grief and loss," she said. "There is room for healing that doesn't have to be talking through everything. We can have a moment of reflection and contemplation. Just by conscious awareness and acknowledging what's going on inside, we can release a lot of sadness and grief and make room for new things to come in."