Beautiful.........

There is so much in this world that most folks miss.  The simple pleasures of getting to know new and like minded folks.  While at the hairdresser I started chatting with the other ladies who were getting a beauty tune up.  We chatted about everything from children today, to how long we had patronized Fatou's Hairbraiding Salon to the upcoming Oktoberfest in our community of District Heights. 

We started talking about how the neighborhood is.  Happily it was not the gloom and doom report that I often hear.  It was instead a conversation about the feel of change and positivity in the air.  I met a new neighbor Callie whose house I pass daily on my way to work.  She moved into the community ten years ago, a year before me.  There was discussion about how happy she was to see that the Community Garden was adding life back into the community. I shared with her the vision of the Garden Club that is in it's infancy, but was  going to grow.  I discussed how programs for the youth needed to be embraced beyond what is in place....anf joining the different demographics as well. 

There was a college student who was  in the chair beside mine.  She was intrigued with the concept of community and wanted to continue the conversation.  She was from Chicago anf wanted to do something to make a difference upon her return.    I told her that I knew about Cabrini Greens and the work done to uplift that community.  She lives not too far from there.  I suggested that she start a community gardening effort.  I understand that everyone is not into gardening....however when you think about this it can sometimes be the tie that binds and heals a community.  This is and can be a beautiful thing. 

Gardening in a community is a beautiful way to touch the hearts and souls and even heal a community.  When you teach children how to use the hands to lovingly create seed balls or start a sun flower in a cup - you teach them to non violently use a tool that can never be taken away from them - their hands.  Imagine, if our hands were used to plant seeds of joy, as opposed to illegal activity, this world be be just a litle more beautiful.  If we used our teenagers to dig the larger holes, create the flower beds and lug the mulch,  once again, we would be training them to act peacefully and responsibly. Finally, if we use our Seniors to talk, guide  and direct these activities, we have joined forces within the comunity and it will help the community grow. Awesomness.......simply a beautiful thing!

I will continue to be an activist within my community and continue this conversation with this young lady and perhaps make a difference in making something beautiful in minimally the mind.  If all of us tried to  create something beautiful - gardening or not - what a beautiful place the world would be.  See what happens when we  open our mouths and talk and find out things we may never expose ourselves to if we stay indoors and detach ourselves from our community, we lose out on a beautiful thing.