Two weeks ago we drove over an hour to see the aspen changing. Today we drove 3 miles and hiked in on a National Forest road and saw some beautiful sites. Again, the camera didn't catch the brightness, I may have needed to use an ultraviolet filter because it was so bright, but just pointing and shooting with the Nikon digital worked pretty well.

Last week I became pretty depressed after hearing how our legislature and executive branch wants to treat foreign born citizens in our country. Our country's forefathers believed that ALL men are created equal, yet our aristocratic system these days still wants us to treat others differently. I think it's a blatant form of racism. I had to remind myself that to balance all the negativity, that positive actions will arise or have already arisen.

After watching a dvd of the Virgin Suicides by Sophia Coppola, I was ready to just go to bed early and hope for a better day the next morning. I enjoyed the movie, but it, coupled with the political news was disheartening. I know, the movie is taken from a fictional novel, but it still hit me how overly strong control can cause life to wither and die.

Ana had stated the other day that she didn't like Christians because they don't like fun things like Pokemon and Harry Potter. I had to remind her that not all Christians believe that way. That C.S. Lewis wrote similarly and the same kind of allegorical fight of good versus evil is appreciated by many Christians. If those who condemn Pokemon and Harry Potter would actually read or view those works they would see that there is a strong similarity. Some Christians believe that all is a creation of God.

Also I reminded her about the nun who was recently killed by Muslim extremists in reaction to the quote the pope had used about spreading Islam by the sword. Even as she lay dying, she forgive those who did not understand. I find it somewhat ironic that some of those who are incensed about Islam being spread by the sword see fit to use the sword to express their discontent. Doesn't that prove the point? But not all Muslims are that radical and Catholics themselves used the sword during the Crusades so everyone is similar in their wrongdoings and hopefully learning to right those wrongs.

The Aga Khan was recorded on the radio the other day and he sounded so wise when he stated we must accept pluralism and be tolerant of others' views. It reminds me of the paradoxical nature of spiritual truth: in order to recognize humanity's oneness, we have to be tolerant of our differences. We all may believe differently, but, as Sting says, we all love our children regardless of our theories about creation and whether there is a divine element to the world.