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Maintaining Balance in the Midst of Pressure…

I have encountered both positive and negative people in the contexts of my creativity and projects. I do my best to divorce myself from negativity and drama. Sometimes it is not easy. But I persistently draw boundaries with the spirit of love and forgiveness. I’ve learned that it’s helpful to determine whether my beliefs, or the beliefs of others, are coming from a place of fear or of love.

When the chips are down and the goal is big, it is imperative to stay away from fear-based influences. Allowing a “hater” or a naysayer around you can result in the destruction of a dream. Buzz kills, joy kills, and dream killers are all products of fear-based thinking. Many people who carry these attributes have sadness and pain within themselves. Perhaps their dreams didn’t pan out, or the thought of someone else’s success evokes jealousy. Keep a clear perspective of your own inner greatness and of the inner greatness that each of us carries.

If you notice that you have created a group of people around you that frames things always with the “glass half empty,” do your best to create a different group of people around you who focus on the “glass half full.” And it’s not just groups that are in your immediate circle- there are entire cities that have been cited as “unhappy cities.” Those cities can be fraught with imbalance, which reaps pain, struggle, anger, and…naysayers.

Sometimes, we can become our own naysayer. The old saying “Misery loves company” provides insight into this condition. Complaining about problems with friends or fellow downers is a recipe for continued problems.

For more on this subject, check out my new book available on Amazon–From The Root, A Memoir and A Philosophy for Balance in Our World, pp 70.

I hope this helps!

My goal is to contribute to #HealingOurWorldFromTheRoot

Join us! Do what you can today to nurture yourself and to nurture others. A smile, a kind word, keep your thoughts in an uplifted place, eat well today, do some stretching and something to work out your body…all of these things each day really help to Heal Our World From The Root!

 

 

 

 

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The Power of Love…

Who would imagine how important a community garden of free food could be…I am so grateful that I was moved to start Urban Farming. As I have mentioned in a prior blog, this “calling” changed my life for the best. I have learned so much about our world and how we are all so intricately connected. Below, I will share an excerpt from my book, From The Root:

On this particular day, in the very beginning, we stood at the first official Urban Farming Community Garden on the corner of Collingwood and Cascade on the west side of Detroit. This was the same garden that would be featured on the Montel Williams Show only weeks after this encounter. A young woman approached me and told me how happy she was to be able to pick free food. Her voice was saddled with burden, and her face was visibly battled. Her story unfolded as we talked. She told me that she was desperately trying to transition out of homelessness. Our free garden gave her the ability to eat any time, day or night. 

She shared how soothing this was for her, as she pulled me aside and spoke in a soft undertone, offering more of her story. Many times she had been so hungry she’d had to beg for food. Tears welled up in her eyes as she told me that she had recently asked a man to help her buy some food. He demanded that she perform a sexual act in exchange. She felt dirty and worthless, with an increased broken trust in men. That man saw a woman in need and instead of protecting her and helping her, he took advantage of her. Clearly he was also a broken spirit, and likely from similarly rooted circumstances. The young woman broke down and cried, letting me know that the garden was a place where she could go to eat without compromising her dignity. That was why it was of such special importance to her that our gardens provided free food and free access 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.  I was moved and shaken.

–Page 44 and 45 of From The Root, A Memoir and A Roadmap for Balance in Our World.

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urbanfarming.org

#LoveIsContagious

#HealOurWorldFromTheRoot

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Urban Farming Free Plant Giveaway Events 2019

The 10th Annual Urban Farming Mother’s Day Free Plant Giveaway Events are in TWO cities this year!

Detroit, Michigan: On May 4, 2019 at the Northwest Activities Center in Detroit, Urban Farming will give 1,200 free vegetable plants to individuals and families who add their gardens to the Urban Farming Global Map. The first 100 people who arrive will receive 12 free vegetable plants for their garden, along with other gardening resources! We also have five rain barrels that will be gifted to the first 5 people or community garden representatives who arrive.  Music and goodness!

Join us from 9:30 AM until 11:30 AM at: 18100 Meyers Rd, Detroit, MI 48235. Special Thanks to: Telly’s Greenhouse, Avis Ford, and Home Depot.

Los Angeles, California: On May 11, 2019 at “A Place Called Home,”  Urban Farming will give 12 free vegetable plants and other gardening resources to 250 community members. There will also be music, food, activities for the whole family, and a free raffle with two grand prizes each valued at over $500.00!

Join us from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM at: 2830 S Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90011