Thankful ~ to be *Thankful*

With the *Thanksgiving* holiday quickly approaching, I will take this opportunity to be *REFLECTIVE* of my gratitude...

My route home is Grand Blvd. to I-75.  I have been taking this route for the past year and a half, and always see this big, tall building with splashes of paint dripping down the side wall. This building is the *North*End*Studios*.  Recently though, I've noticed little changes in the parking lot of this building...A pair of shoes that looks like a painters palette was dropped on them...shredded car tires spray painted with flourescent and neon colors...and a tiny bed of flowers.  So, I finally had to pull over to see what all "this stuff" was about:
  

   

The North End (((Sensory))) Garden (see picture below): 
This made my heart smile!
There is a little sign that reads:

"We invite visitors of all ages and phsyical ability to explore the outdoors with a garden that stimulates the senses.  When the garden is complete, you will be greeted by a palette of beautiful colors and shapes, a lush mix of textures, fragrant scents, and the sound of waving grass and foilage in the breeze.  Michigan native plants are the focus of this garden with species chosen for their resilience in an urban environment, seasonal beauty and contribution to urban habitat for birds and butterflies.  With the support and maintence of the North End Studios and North End Community, the North End Sensory Garden has the potentional to beautify the neighborhood and connect neighbors like you!!!"
To me, this garden is a metaphor for hope, faith, and trust that *someday*, this little parking lot, on this very "harsh" looking and abandoned street will flourish.  The people behind this hope are *special*...how many of us give up on people...places...and things when they are at their worst?   It takes a *special* heart to see hope and light in people, places, and things when they may "appear" run down or shattered. 

May it be a reminder, that as educators, we are constantly creating an environment that nurtures, supports, cultivates, and stimulates *all the sensories* and ways of "knowing".  May we constantly be sensitized to *see* the "little changes" in students.  Afterall, art educators are "visually listening" every.single.day...

It is my intent to always see the light, potential, and hope in *all* students and help them to see it too ~
For I am *THANKFUL* * for all the *people* who never gave up on me and helped me realize *my light*...my potential :) :) :) 

 

*NOW...a ~seed~of HOPE*

*HOPE*

"As we express our *GRATITUDE*,
We must never forget,
That the highest *APPRECIATION*
Is not to utter words,
But to *LIVE*by*them."
-John F. Kennedy-