Cultivating Joy - A Healthy Growth Medium

I remember reading an article about buildings in Asia starting a new tax-incentive program that included building "Green Rooftops" or rooftops that acted as gardens to help replenish the oxygen and atmosphere of the surrounding city. What an amazing idea, right? Well, I saw it here in Los Angeles, CA too! At our Zoo we have an exhibit called "The Lair: Living Amphibians, Invertebrates & Reptiles." Needless to say that when I do make it through this exhibit it is normally with one eye shut and rushing past everyone on the tips of my toes. But something that struck me was the composition of the building, the roof in particular. The architects had really planned this one out and made a building that truly reflected not just its inhabitants but the land upon which it stood. The roof was more than just planks of wood and steel holding together the frame for the exhibit, it was a whole ecosystem of plants and fauna. All of them living, surviving and thriving up there. The roof was, is, alive. What a beautiful thing. The building becomes part of the world it inhabits instead of just an occupant. It's a lot like us, we can be an occupant of this life, this world that surrounds us at all turns, or we can truly become a part of it. We can become a functioning part that not only lives but thrives. We can plant those bushes and trees and plants on our roof and help grow and supply our own fuel, like solar panels that keep growing despite the sunlight. We are organic beings and we must be open to all the different ways around us that we can use to not just sustain and energize ourselves but also encourage and support ourselves as well. The architects at the Zoo did something amazing with this building, they combined form and function in order to make a more efficient and self-sustaining building. It is up to us in life to make ourselves more self-sufficient and self-sustainable; lucky for us though we don't have to go at it alone - we have all the help we need all around us. Our Joy is there waiting for us, waiting to be cultivated with love and grown with care.