A better way

   Years ago, when my daughter was 3 years old, she drew this picture. It's not my favorite because she was going to be the next Picasso. It's my favorite because she drew this happy image less than a month after we lost our house, and everything in it, to a wildfire. Did she find her happiness again because she knew the grass and flowers would grow back? Did she realize that her cuddly buddy, Nico, went to pet heaven? Or did she find her happy groove again because she learned to let go? As parents we will never know. What I have learned, though, is that the power of gratitude is profound and being thankful is essential to happiness. My daughters have taught me a lot in the shortest of time. They have shown me a better way to live. My teacher is in their laughter, in their butterfly kisses, in their quivering taps on my shoulder when they are afraid of the night. We are all students of life and if we listen with more than our ears, messages abound. 

I'll leave you with this thought:

When asked, "What surprised him most about humanity?" the Dalai Lama answered,

"Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.

Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health.

And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;

the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;

he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived."