BIG LAUGHS...

That's me, not really caring what anybody thinks of my goofy face! Today is my birthday, you see, and I figure I've come to a stage in my life where what other people think just isn't that important. It's not such a bad place to be. As you might have guessed. I'm 40, today, and I'm pleased as punch to be here. As you might also have guessed.

I just loved Crater Lake, Oregon. Such quietude I've never known. It gets very quiet here on the prairie, in the winter, but there is always the wind or a distant train filling the air with...something! In the summer there are bug noises and birds singing. At Crater Lake, during the evening hours... nothing. Just the sound of your own breathing to keep you company. You can feel really, really small in a place like that and you can't help but to think about life on a much grander scale than just the piddly things that you were thinking were oh-so-important. Certainly puts things in perspective.

But then I got to thinking... yeah, I know, it's dangerous. But why can't we create an inner place of quietude where we can sit and... do nothing. Just breath and regroup our priorities. Take a look at where we're headed and if we really want to go there and maybe what it would take to change directions. I've always said that life is more than scenery. I haven't found a place, yet, that didn't have some sort of beauty of it's own. So really, it shouldn't be the scenery, or the place we are standing in, that motivates us to think about what's really important, but the space we've created, within. We are masters of our own inner universe and we can make things in there any way we want. That's a powerful thought. We are the only ones accountable for how we react to the things going on around us. Yes, other people and circumstances affect us, but we are responsible for how we react and the space inside is the reference to that. If my space inside is full of clutter and noise, well, of course I'm gonna be overwhelmed by little external things and find it very difficult to handle even small upsets. But if I am somehow able to set aside the racket of negative thoughts and feelings and keep my space clear, than I might be more able to set aside unimportant negative influences and cherish those sweet sounds of all the good things in my life. Well, it seemed like a clear thought at the time- though not nearly as clear and deep as that lake up there!