JANUARY 23, 2011 New York Botanical Gardens

" Life is short,and we never have too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling the dark journey with us. Oh, be swift to love, make haste to be kind!" - Henri Frederic Amiel

You own soul is nourished when you are kind,but you destroy yourself when you are cruel. Proverbs 11:17


Kindness is something we never have enough of. I have learned through hard lessons of my own, to be kind to unkind people--because they need it the most. I have also learned that hatred and anger are powerless when met with kindness. My mother used to say when she saw me upset about 'the little things' Kill them with kindness. The word powerless is a powerful word. In a twelve step program you learn about powerless. I am powerless over alcohol...I am powerless over food...I am powerless over drugs and my life is unmanageable. Well, I am powerless over unkind people. We all have met unkind people. For example, in a small community on a small island, you will find many unkind individuals. There are unkind individuals everywhere. In the same respect you will find many kind individuals. Stick with the kind . When I see faults and unkindess around me, I become blind and become a little kinder. Kindness never hurt anyone. When was the last time you were kind to someone? It cost you nothing to be kind. Washington Irving sums up kindness in this quote, " A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles."


Yesterday two friends who happen to be life partners went on a journey. The journey was a 15 minute Harlem Line Metro North train ride to the New York Botanical Gardens.
Have you ever visited the Botanical Gardens. If not, let me inspire you.

The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is one of the premier botanical gardens in the United States, located in the Bronx in New York City. It spans some 250 acres (100 ha) of Bronx Park and is home to some of the world's leading plant laboratories. More than 1 million people visit the Gardens every year. You would think that in a coild winter day you wouldn't enjoy the Gardens. Wrong !

New York Botanical Garden is an advocate for the plant kingdom. The conservatory welcomes you with this " A World of Plants "The Garden pursues its mission through its role as a museum of living plant collections arranged in gardens and landscapes across its National Historic Landmark site and through its comprehensive education programs in horticulture and plant science.

So being a friend/partner means he/she accepts US as WE are, yet helps US to BE what WE should be. He finds Watson 203 for a Digital Photography Class, while I find the exhibit on Carribean Fauna and Flora. We meet later at The Shop for sipping the tea and shopping for plants. Well, maybe not plants in this cold, but for books.

The history of the Gardens is grand as the Gardens itself. The Lorillard Family owned most of the land which became The New York Botanical Garden. That land and adjacent acreage was acquired by the City of New York and set aside for the creation of a zoo and botanical garden. The Garden was founded in 1891 on part of the grounds of the Lorillard Estate, formerly owned by the tobacco magnate Pierre Lorillard. The Garden's creation followed a fund-raising campaign led by the Torrey Botanical Club and Columbia University botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton and his wife Elizabeth Knight who were inspired to emulate the Royal Botanic Gardens in London. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1967. Visit www.nybg.com

Become a member and enjoy the benefits of membership through exhibits, education classes, and bringing your friends.

Since I love history and I love plants, I wanted a new book that a History of a Plant. Do I need a new book? No, I do not. My Botanical Latin book arrived yesterday in time for my Botanical Latin course sponsored of course by the New York Botanical Gardens. The Shop at the Gardens had my Botanical Latin text in the course section, but to the left was a book titled, 'Plant Intoxicants' A Classic Text on the Use of Mind-Altering Plants. My left hand reached up and my mind said yes. It is a pioneering study of psychoactive plants and their role in society. It was initially published in 1855, and the first book to examine the cultivation, preparation and consumption of the world's major stimulants. So I will read and tell you about in the future, Paullinia sorbilis (Guarana), Datura fastuosa
( Thoranapple), and Erythroxylon coca (Coca). Yet, the plant and its flower that has always fascinated me is Papaver somniferum - The Poppy. This plant unlike any other played the most important role in the history of narcotics, of trade and even mankind. So, I had to find a book on the Poppy. Two books away from Plant Intoxicants was ' The History of Opium.' So there is was. This second book touched my left hand and it guided me to the cash register.

The photographer and the student went home in bliss, happiness and love.

The End


Photo Credit: Rick Byrd

Until tomorrow...