As time passes, each day quickly moving forward to the next, each year passing by even more rapidly than the last, I believe it is important to pause for awhile and honestly take a good look at our own lives.. look at who we truly are at this point in time and what we truly value. We busy ourselves with so much that we can often neglect to honestly evaluate if the time we spend on many things is worth the effort expended. And with this evaluation, we may find that so much of what causes us worry and so much of what absorbs our attention and causes us stress.. is really a rather large bundle of things that we can do nothing about. Although we may hope that many things could be different, we alone cannot change others’ opinions or actions. We alone cannot take the craziness or confusion away from what is going on. So much of what is happening around us all is so difficult to understand. I would love to truly understand so much more.. to look into other’s minds and hearts, to understand the motivation for many of the actions and words of others that I don’t understand, but it is truly difficult. I believe that we can try our best to understand and evaluate, but we cannot obsess over those things where we have no control. We can, however, do our best to keep from judging others for their beliefs. I have seen horrible things said about people, based upon their beliefs.. And I believe that is the worst part of the great misunderstanding that is going on. Our country is a place where freedom of thought and belief should be respected and honored.. not a place where we condemn others for their beliefs if they are different from our own. We can do our best to understand, yet we can’t really change what others think or believe. But we can have respect for one another.
And so where does this all bring me and my own sense of understanding.. my own evaluation of where I am in my own life? I have been thinking about this a great deal lately. Can I make a positive difference in this world? Can I deeply care about what is happening in the world around me while I concentrate on the real truths that I can understand? Can I help where I am needed to make a burden easier for someone else? Can I speak kindly to others, help them, and express my care and concern for them, no matter what their beliefs may be? Can I love unconditionally? Can I continue to honor and respect my friends, new and old, without judging them based on their beliefs? I hope that I can.. and will continue to do this to the best of my ability. I can look at and evaluate my place in this world and do my best.. at loving my family and dear friends and offering my help when needed, at finding the positives in every day living and expressing those to others, at looking for and finding the beauty around me in this life, at using my God given abilities in my own way to help make this world a better place. I will continue to try to understand those things that I do not. I will do my best to celebrate life, to express my thankfulness for my blessings, and to be a responsible citizen of my community, my country, and my world. I will continue to seek the truth and look for the goodness and the beauty in all that is around me.. the people, the country, the world, the wonders of nature… and do my best every day to honor and respect those with whom I share this earth.

~ Carole Carter – words and photograph