New Chalkboard Art in The Shop

March 02, 2020

Our new chalkboard art (compliments of Kathy and her incredible artistic talent and quote finding skills) is a Latin Grace Prayer that says,

“To those who have hunger, give bread. And to those who have bread, give the hunger for justice.”

When I first read the prayer, while I knew what it meant, for some reason I was getting caught up on the word “justice”, so I asked Josh and Kathy to tell me what it meant to them.

They explained that it’s the expression of when you have what you need and look behind you to offer a helping hand; having a strong desire to provide sustenance for those who have less than us, even if we only have bread! While they were explaining it to me I was reminded of the Tim McGraw song, “when you get where you’re going, don’t forget to turn back around. Help the next one in line. Always stay humble and kind.”

Justice can feel like a strong word. For some people, it leaves a flavor of judgement and rigidity. It can feel political with a daunting sense of worldly responsibility and maybe even seem in cahoots with revenge.

But the truth of the word is actually very sweet and full of compassion. Justice comes from a place where we acknowledge our equality. Hierarchy can’t exist there. Justice from a place of love is when we recognize that everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. Once we fully take in how truly blessed we are and connect to the fact that every human being deserves their basic needs to be met, then we will eagerly meet the needs of others with love instead of negative judgment or the feeling that our “bubble” is being invaded upon.

So how do we give the hunger for justice? Recently, I was looking around my quaint little studio apartment admiring all of the things I’ve filled it with that I love and I thought, “Wow, this has ALL been given to me!” Of course, I show up everyday to do my work and try to live in a responsible way and that’s worth a lot... but at the end of the day, I was given a job that gives me my “bread". I have the ability to walk outside, scrape ice and snow off of my car and then drive wherever I need to go because of what I’ve been given; Good health, a car with heat, working windshield wipers and gas in my tank. The list is literally endless... It’s all perspective, isn’t it?

I hope that moment of realization sticks with me and continues to inspire more justice in the way I live. When I remember just how much I've been given then it's EASY to lend a helping hand. The acknowledgment of abundance in our lives walks hand in hand with the eagerness to pay it forward no matter how obvious the reasons are why someone else is in a vulnerable situation... and I think that’s where the compassion is.

What a truly graceful sentiment and a powerful reminder that we are all in this together and that with a little gratitude and faith, we can find our way to grace and perhaps develop a hefty appetite for a little more justice in this world.

- Kayla Marie

Retail Store Manager

Mountain Arts Pottery