When we look around us, what can we learn? Lessons abound in all of nature.

Smile!
like the daffodils -- who dance in the
late winter breeze,
tossing their yellow heads and
bowing to their partners across a snowy carpet.

Rejoice!
like the otter -- who giggles as the
frigid mountain water
tickles his toes and spills across his belly,
clapping to the rhythm of waves against the shore.

Weep!
like the coyote -- who cries out to a
silent heaven,
begging the night to listen to the tears and open its starry eyes to the sorrow of a world drowning in sin.

Listen!
like the rain -- which, after pounding
the earth with its tiny feet,
hears the distant call, and returns to the river and the outstretched arms of a loving, watchful creator.