I recently took a break from the bankruptcy attorney world and visited Los Angeles, California. During our trip, my family and I set out for the tar pits in downtown LA. After we finished our interesting adventure at the tar pits, I noticed this huge rock down the street. I had to check this out.
Next door to the tar pits, is the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. As a bankruptcy attorney, I am not a big fan of contemporary art. I’m a Georgia boy. However, this gigantic sculpture called “Levitated Mass“, really got this Georgia boy’s attention.
“The work comprises a 21.5-foot tall boulder mounted on the walls of a 456ft-long concrete trench, surrounded by 2.5 acres of compressed decomposed granite. The boulder is bolted to two shelves affixed to the inner walls of the trench, which descends from ground level to 15 feet below the stone at its center, allowing visitors to stand directly below the megalith.” (Wikipedia). This boulder weighs 360,000 pounds.
As we stood next to this sculpture, I asked my wife, “How does this work of art speak to you?”
In her sarcastic professor voice, she says “I believe this rock represents perseverance. If a person can stay focused on finding a solution to their obstacle, eventually they will find a way.”
Even though I know she was just joking around, what she said made sense to me.
Despite the fact that I’m no art connoisseur, I had to give my two cents.
To me, that 360 ton rock represents debt. The path up under represents bankruptcy. Many people, through no fault of their own, sometimes get a big giant rock put into their path. Sometimes, it is divorce. Other times, it is a loss of job or medical emergency. Does the fact that a gargantuan boulder fell into their path mean that they are a failure? Absolutely not!
From a distance, it looks like there is no possible way to get through that large rock. A thirty percent compound interest rate can make a debt rock grow so large that it seems insurmountable. However, there is a path through it. Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy enables consumers to get past the debt rock and move on with their future.
I guess being a bankruptcy attorney has a huge impact on how I see the world……especially contemporary art.
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