When I traveled Southeast Asia in the early 70’s onboard a helicopter carrier I started out believing, in part, the propaganda about “them.” While there I found that the people I met had the same life desires as I had. We all wanted to raise our children and grandchildren in relative peace and with whatever comfort we may be able to earn.

I have often had a challenge with gratitude lists or talking about what I am thankful for because it seems to come off as shallow.
What really touches my gratitude button is still being alive, and the opportunity to live in such a wonderful country.

We did a walking meditation the other evening in a class that my wife and I teach. In the meditation the meditators take one step in silence with each breath focusing on their surroundings — coolness, dampness and unevenness of the ground, the leaves, life in the moment.

Sometimes life is like that, we move forward, slowly, yet we are still moving forward.

Tomorrow we have the opportunity to go to the polls and cast our ballot for our choice of who we would like to see lead the nation, state, county, and city governments over the next few years.

If you are reading this I take for granted you are walking a conscious moral path.

I will have to answer this question with a resounding yes.

If a politician touts his religion as a reason to vote for him/her I will run as quickly as possible in the opposite direction.