I am sitting in my office looking out the widow. It is a beautiful day. The sun is out, and there are a variety of flowers still in bloom. There is a slight breeze, which blows the flowers in such a way that they seem to be doing some kind of a peaceful dance. 

There are an abundance of trees, from blue pines, to weeping willows. They too, seem to be dancing, swaying gently from left to right . It is a beautiful picture, and I am fortunate to be a part of it, if only as an observer. I have a huge respect  for nature, and for the environment in which I live. And while for the moment I am simply looking at the beauty of it, I know that I am also a part of it. 

Unfortunately, not everyone feels this way, and consequently we find ourselves, and our little planet in trouble. So much has changed since I was a child. I remember playing in the woods right across the street froom my house. I use to lay under the redwood trees, and think magical thoughts. There were wild flowers, a variety of ferns, soft fuzzy moss, and wild plum trees. It was like heaven. I was lucky to have been born to such a place. I learned early on that the woods and I were one.

Of course today the woods, and all that magic is gone, and in its place are hundreds of homes, most of them landscaped with white, or gray rock. Neat and tidy, and empty feeling. As a culture we have taken more then we need, and have given back little. Most of the rivers I swam in as a kid are now polluted, and dangerous to swim in. 

The wild flowers I once picked and gave to my mother , have all but disappeared. I cannot find a wild plum tree, and that lovely smell of sweet leaves, and wild things is gone. It is my hope, that we can somehow as a species come to recognize that we are all a part of a whole. 

And that the earth, and all living beings have the same rights to life as we do. And then, I hope that we will start giving back, and quit taking more than we need.