Reduce, Reuse = Recycle

I found this the other day when I was parking in a parking structure in Burbank, California. I saw the sign at first and glanced at it but I didn't really get what it was saying and I didn't have time to stop and go back. I couldn't stop thinking about it afterwards though and when I was finished and came back I took some time to explore and look around. I was curious about what was there around those concrete pillars and walls. Silly I know but something about it just stuck out to me as something neat and interesting and worth looking into. Something that showed mankind investing back into the world it had created in a positive way, or so I hoped. When I got back to the structure I looked at the sign. The boulders that are found all over and on both sides are actually repurposed from the Burbank landfill. It's kind of cool, to take something from an area of waste and putting it to good use where it actually looks good too. It reduces waste and reuses it at the same time, repurposing at its finest. The stones are filled in to imitate the actual California environment. That combined with the native draught-resistant plants makes this garden more than ideal. It requires less upkeep, it will stay nicer longer, it is more ecological friendly and it was done by reusing old waste products. That is seriously really cool. 

The City of Burbank Water & Power company did something inventive and smart, it is a Demonstration Garden to show just how effective they can be. That is what we constantly are, Demonstration Gardens, always showing to others and ourselves the potential that we know we have within. Sometimes it shines brightly through and sometimes it doesn't. Those times are when we really have to hold on to our Joy and what it means to us. We reduce and reuse by taking all of our past and letting it go. We don't just pretend it doesn't exist, we just have to deal with it and move on because in the end there is no way to go back in time and change things. There will never be a way. Deal with everything and don't let that waste, anger, stress, bile, depression build up until it has nowhere left o go except out - or inwards towards yourself. Use those mistakes and bad things and make them Joyful, you learned and survived and moved on. That really is something. Take the Joy you find with you and carry it with you throughout life, leaving gardens for you to visit from time to time when you need to moments. We are always demonstrating because we are never the same, always presenting something new and something exciting. Life is never the same, which is what makes it amazing. But that also means we can't go back in time either. We have to keep moving forward, stay strong and stay Joyful. Don't let things hurt you or weigh you down, let them make you stronger and then cast them to the side. 

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.