Beech Street Community Garden

This is a photograph of pure potential. This is where the new dream resides. 

HOPE resides here.

An Irish Blessing

May the blessing of light be on you,

light without, light within.

May the blessed sunshine shine on you

and warm your heart till it glows like a great peat fire,

so that the stranger may come and warm at it

and become a friend.

Attitude of Gratitude

Attitude of Gratitude
A speech given by Glenn Burton several times in the mid-twentieth century.
edited by Richard Burton December 2, 2017

Attitude defined: a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person's behavior.

Old story that illustrates attitude and its importance
A medieval traveler, wandering across the country, comes across a huge construction project. Near his path, he sees three stone masons, hard at work with their hammers and chisels.

“What are you doing?” asks the traveler.

“Breaking stones,” grunts the first.
“Making a wall,” says the second.
“Building a cathedral!” proclaims the third.

Is there any difference in the work of these three men? Maybe not. But is there any difference in their hearts? Certainly yes.

Gratitude defined: the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return the kindness.

While I would fain have some tincture of all virtues, there is no quality I had rather have or be thought to have than gratitude, for it is not only the greatest virtue but even the mother of all of the rest.
Cicero 60BC

Thanks thinking – What do I have in my life to be thankful for?

Thanks giving – How do I express my gratitude? How do I express my gratitude to those who have        helped me through the years?

Thanks living – Gratefulness beyond words – How do I live my life in such a way that it makes the world a better place?

"A Prayer"

 by Toyohiko Kagawa

I want to be ever a child.
I want to feel an eternal friendship
for the raindrops, the flowers,
the insects, the snowflakes.
I want to be keenly interested in everything,
with mind and muscle ever alert,
forgetting my troubles in the next moment.
The stars and the sea, the ponds and the trees,
the birds and the animals are my comrades.
Though my muscles may stiffen, though my skin may
wrinkle, may I never find myself yawning
at life.

from Songs of the Slums. Translated from the Japanese by Lois Erickson. © Cokesbury, 1935.

Gratitude

“Thou that has given so much to me,

Give one thing more–a grateful heart;

Not thankful when it pleaseth me,

As if thy blessings had spare days;

But such a heart, whose pulse may be

Thy praise.”

            – George Herbert