So although I have been busy, as usual, there are a few things I do more of. I notice the sunsets, I observe nature changing all around me every day. The way the leaves deepen into a darker hue, as summer turns into full swing. I take advantage of the music all around me, birds singing, the voices of my loved ones, the way the trees clap and sway to their own personal rhythm. This is all a part of me, of who I am, and if I can’t see it, hear it, feel it, then it becomes lost to me, as my world spins into an endless race to stay above, to stay ahead. So then what I work for, hope for, and dream of, would then somehow lose its meaning.

So find the time to laugh a little. Look up at the sky, as you embrace the beauty around you, just waiting to be discovered. But most importantly, give of your time, of yourself, to those who matter most, because that is after all the greatest investment you could make in the bank of life.

I search the heavens for star light. Little girl inside, make a wish…Then rest your head, to see tomorrow. The answers come in time. Patience as the hills around. They too feel the seasons, they too must embrace change. Yet they remain untroubled, for it is part of a far greater plan. So rest, tomorrow is born on the wings of a new sun. Tomorrow is your gift of promise. So rest, just rest…

He was not less because he chose not to be less. He would fight and fend along with the rest of them rather they wanted him too or not. He would survive, because he could. If a tiny gull can believe that, why then, is it so hard for us?

We grow discouraged, discontented, life can be so pathetic. But how dare we criticize, what we have yet to learn. How easily our vision our hope is clouded, as if the rains would blind us, beat us, before the dawn that we have so longed and waited for. No matter who we are, we have one precious gift, which we do not have to sacrifice…The gift of hope. The alter of life, is harsh enough without us giving up. No matter what may seem to hold us back, we were born for so much more. Our minds are the visions of our souls, our every dream, our every wish, is important. We may feel tiny, insignificant, but in each of us, there is a hope, that only our own hearts can set free, to watch life soar.

I leaned back and watched him wing to the sky, and in a way he took a piece of my heart with him. In my mind I reached with him, inspired, determined, that I too, can fly.

Odd isn’t it, through every season, as time progresses we look forward to the next, in anticipation, as we loath what we recently could hardly wait for. Human nature I presume, always wondering what’s next? Losing interest quickly, but for the most part always looking ahead. A good thing in so many ways. But sometimes we lose sight of each gift, humbly laid at our feet, for us to notice, or step over.

In its own way, winter gives nature a time of rest, as each season offers a helping hand to the next, in a form of unity, that we as humans could learn much from.

Our minds pass over the kind words, or tiny smiles, that are actually balms to our souls, remembering mostly the wounds, the frozen vast. We cannot have one with out the other. In the end, winter is the sacrifice, melting its life into the ground to feed the hungry growth, to give life. So you see, the cold seasons, are there to make us feel the warm ones. In life our souls slumber through the pain or hardships, waiting for the balm. But it will come, it always does, and though we cannot see the reason as clearly as we can judge the seasons, there is a reason none the less.

Hold tight to that blanket, it is your comfort, your promise, that no matter what, there will always be a spring. Maybe in the form of a simple smile or kind word? Life always has a way of unfolding…

There have been countless books and articles, concerning this subject. But in the end, it boils down to one small fraction, ourselves, and how we perceive our lives. Some of us may be stuck in a rut that feels too deep to climb out from, or others, may feel there lives are racing by them at such a speed they can’t catch their breath. What ever your case may be, stop digging, stop running for one moment, and think. What matters most to you? Draw some mental images here, go through your gallery and choose. Now that that is done, place that image on page one of your book of life. What follows, what changes, the one defining point is that photo, that is what you love, work for, and fight for, that is your driving force. Stick with it.

No, don’t start running, or digging yet, bear with me. Runners ask yourself, is that photo, that image, what your running towards? Are you finding ways to make time for it, are you putting it first and foremost? If not, prioritize…Grave stones, never read, how much you owned, or how cool you may have been, they just say your dead. So make those years count for something! It never hurts to give a little or even a lot of yourself, who you are, and in a way that is carried on, for always, and that does count for a lot. Ok, so no running, just walk, do what you can do, and make the best of what you’ve got. Just breathe ok? You’ll feel better in the long run.

Diggers? Mind if I set down? See the trouble here is your throwing the dirt out of the hole, instead of tossing it under your feet, to make a bridge. Your frustrated? Well the longer you dig the deeper you get. So set down ok? Why are you doing this too yourself? Are you happy? So what makes you happy? What are you digging for? Probably like most diggers it’s already sitting on some tall hill, and the only way to get there is to make use of that dirt, make that bridge. Get your head up here and breathe some air! Stop feeling like you don’t matter! You count! The sooner you realize that the sooner you can get your head clear, and figure out how to build. Just make sure you know what your building for. Got your picture? Ok, now as you lay the foundation, take note, so if it does crash down around your ears, you will know exactly how to build it again.

Now point your gaze towards the horizon, not the sunset. The only way to get ahead is to step forward not backward. Think about all the amazing things the present and the future holds, and suck them up! Make them a part of you. So when you get stuck or out of breath, you have a reason, you have something to hold onto. This is your hope. Hang that picture on your minds wall.

Isn’t life like that? So often we are caught in some strange unwanted slumber, waiting for something to happen something to begin. To stretch our faith, in a new days sun, and to just feel what it’s like to step out and believe, maybe sometimes to just close our eyes, and not worry about what may not even be there once we open them.

We may grow cold, from life’s winters, but we must always believe in the spring, in the summer. That there is so much more, just waiting to break forth. All we have to do really is believe