The sign must come like dawn.

Let us take a break, sit by the river, and watch the current quietly flow.

 Let's just think, for a moment, about where the current is going, the shores it will brush on its way, the clouds reflected on its surface, the animals that come to drink from it, the bobbers it gently nudges downstream. 

A forest is full of many different kinds of trees -- they are all sizes and shapes and shades of color.

It is hard to imagine a pine tree wishing it was an oak. Or a fir tree envying the birch its white bark. Instead, each tree catches raindrops and reflects the sunshine in its own way. 

We often find ourselves envying someone else. We think they have more money or more friends. We see them as better looking or luckier in some way than we are. 

It is so easy to overlook our own gifts when we do this. We get fooled by what looks good and forget that all human beings have some weaknesses and pain, just like we do.

Like the trees in the forest, we each have our own unique beauty and talents to offer.

If we believe in ourselves, rather than envy those around us, we will grow green and tall in our own way.

01/01/2014