We love flowers, don't we? Beautiful flowers can surely raise our positive energy level, but can they protect us from bad people?
Japanese citizens figured out that they could.
"A Tokyo district plagued with burglaries has turned to planting flowers to beautify its streets and help stamp out crime."
"'Operation Flower' began about three years ago. By planting flowers facing the street, more people will be keeping an eye out while taking care of the flowers or watering them," said Kiyotaka Ohyagi, a Suginami City official.
"The best way to prevent crime is to have more people on the lookout."
Suginami, with a population of 528,800, saw a record 1,710 break-ins in 2002.
When a neighborhood watch group found that there were fewer burglaries in buildings on flower-lined streets, Suginami decided to kick off Operation Flower and asked volunteers to plant seeds on side streets and in front of their homes.
The flowers are part of a wider crime prevention campaign.
Suginami says its efforts have paid off, with the number of burglaries falling to 390 in 2008, down almost 80 percent from 2002".
by TOKYO (Reuters)
I am not sure if that could work everywhere, but it certainly would make our cities look more beautiful.
More of flower's power:
enjoy "The Flower Garden Meditation". (Healing with Flowers)
"When Eric Hagen started Recession Ride Taxi in Essex, Vt., he took more questions than fares.
Everyone wanted to know if the sign reading "Pay What You Want!" on the back of his taxi was for real. It is, and Hagen says he hasn't been shortchanged yet.
He offers pay-what-you-can bottles of water, Gatorade and soda and a free ride after six paid fares. He tells the Burlington Free Press that business has been good.
Most of his transactions are in cash. But he's also gotten a CD from a musician and a $10 supermarket card.
Hagen has been offering his taxi service Thursday through Sunday nights since June. When he's not a taxi driver, the 46-year-old Hagen works full time for the American Red Cross." From Burlington Free Press
If you happen to be in Essex don't forget to try it out. Enjoy the ride.
I have to admit: I don't twitter. Maybe sometimes, I will...As this 104-years old Twitter user proves-it's never too late.
Ivy Bean is an avid Twitter user and possibly the oldest person on the social networking site.
"From the care home where she lives in the northern English city of Bradford, near Leeds, Bean updates her more than 27,000 Twitter followers about the ups and downs of her life -- from getting her hair done with her good friend Mabel, to eating fish and chips and watching her favorite game show, "Deal or No Deal," on TV.
Before getting onto Twitter, Bean was already active on Facebook, where she maxed out her 5,000-friend limit in no time.
Bean says she prefers Twitter because it's easier than Facebook -- it only requires updating. She has linked both accounts.
"Old" is not the first -- or second or even 10th -- word that comes to mind with Bean, an engaging, lively and friendly lady with a warm and infectious smile."
One hundred and forty Jewish and Palestinians of all ages came together for three days camp to understand more closely each other's fears, to alleviate their general ignorance about one another, to learn to live together. Here's how the experiment went.
I have been participating in similar projects in the past where I have witnessed amazing transformations. I saw people coming as enemies and leaving as friends.
Peace begins where the hearts find connection and open to heal.
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