From every quarter, we're bombarded by troubles of every description; it's no wonder so many people go around with long faces and sullen dispositions. It's easy to be caught up in all the negativity that surrounds us. There comes a time though that, if you're going to survive the madness, that you must stop, step back, and take a good look at all the blessings we have. This might be a good time to do just that.

Give yourself a break; hop off the treadmill and slow down the pace for a while. Locate a place off the beaten path; perhaps a quiet park, a lake or seashore, or maybe a babbling brook or stream.

Don't take the hustle and bustle with you. Do away with the cell phone and the laptop; leave the office and home behind you, they will be there when you return.

Notice the quietness away from the steady drone of the highways? Listen to the soft murmur of the breeze rusting the leaves and grasses, the birds singing happily unto their Creator. Note the coolness of the air away from the cement jungle. All is well in the world away from mans intervention.

Our Father (by whatever term you wish to use) has given unto us a wondrous and beautiful world, a world without turmoil or troubles. It is we who have caused it to be such a stressful place to live.

It is not possible for any of us to change the world, but we have it within our grasp to change how we look upon it. We can learn to live a peaceful and harmonious existence before our Creator, no matter where we live. We don't have to be caught up in all of mans folly.

How does that old saying go? "Let me change that which I can and accept that which I cannot, with the wisdom to know the difference." That's a shortened version but you get the idea. The key here is to ‘accept' that which you cannot change.

Our Native American brothers and sisters that preceded us, and hopefully many still do, looked upon creation as a living entity. They loved and respected all things, and they took only that which they were in actual need of, returning prayer and thanksgiving for what was given unto them. We can learn a great deal from their selfless ways.

You have no doubt heard the statement that we ‘create our own reality,' that is a great truth my fried. Even if you don't ascribe to the notion that we do ‘actually' create our own reality, I'm sure that you will admit that your mental outlook does create your view of yourself, as well as your view of the world. How you think dictates how you feel about things.

If you train yourself to view your fellow beings as part of the harmonious whole, like you're experiencing in ‘nature,' then you can begin to view others in a different way. They too are as much of the created ‘whole' as are you, no matter how ‘ripe' or ‘unripe' they may be.

Embrace and enjoy the world which has been given unto your keeping; you don't have to own it - you can't - but you can love the Creator and all of his creations, including man, in all his darkness and strife.

Above all, you must not cast blame upon neither God nor the Father, nor even upon man, for man is what he is intended to be at this point in time. This life, this world, are but stepping-stones leading us upon an eternal path; enjoy the journey.

If you have ripened beyond the confines of current mortality, then seek out others of like dispensation, and cleave unto one another in love and harmony, having faith in the Almighty. You cannot leaven the masses but you can be one with our Creator, and with one another.

What more is there than being in harmony with the Father? And being in concert with His Creations? He will be our sure foundation long after this mortal world has moldered into dust.

Enjoy your time in ‘nature,' whether it is in the forests, the mountains, the desert, the seashore or yes, even the cement monuments built by men; the Creator is within All of His Creations. Seek within and you shall find

His Presence.

Love eternally, Spirit Dove