Last night I watched the sun as it sank in the west 
It came to me just how truly I am blessed 
The gossamer clouds caught the late evening rays 
What a wonderful beautiful colorful display 

This morning when I awoke I heard a beautiful sound 
I walked out in my yard and I  looked around 
I searched for the source of this sweet melody 
It was a beautiful songbird singing it's song for me 

There are many blessings that cannot be bought 
And so many lessons that cannot be taught 
Provided by God for all to hear and see 
And just think they are all absolutely free 

The words above express so much of what I feel as I count the many blessings in my life. The peace which one feels as one watches a beautiful sunset surrounded by the peace which one feels on a warm summer evening as dusk approaches. The radiance of the sunlight in the early morning when the dew is still blanketing each blade of grass and the songbirds are declaring their joy in  the new day. Yes, life is, and should be, good and  there IS joy to be found around us no matter what the day may bring.

 Your outlook  and state of mind has so much to do with  making your life happier despite the problems you deal with on a day to day basis. Some have more to cope with than others unfortunately but those who do try to find the positive aspects in their lives find it infinitely less onerous to  handle the curves we get thrown at times by life. If one expects the worst ... that is exactly what you will usually get. Those who make a real effort to see the bright side of life most times find that  there isn't too much which confronts them  which they are unable to overcome.

 Certainly there are times when even the most optimistic find that the cards dealt to them are impossible to handle alone but they will usually find there are others standing by more than willing to shoulder a part of the load. The secret is  remembering  that others most times prefer the company  of the optimist  as opposed to the pessimist who tends to make a depressing companion. If you make a habit of looking on the bright side of things and projecting that attitude to those with whom you come in contact you will find you are seldom alone.  And even when you are alone you will find that your attitude lightens almost any  dark cloud which may be hovering.

The dark clouds which surround us all at the moment  I admit do seem to be more forbidding than most, and yes, it appears that there doesn't appear to be much daylight on the horizon, but I sincerely believe that time will prove to have the solution to what seems at the moment to be insurmountable problems ahead. I have the utmost faith that those in a position to rectify this morass in which  we find ourselves will do what is necessary to change  the path we are on. No clouds are ever so dark as those which  herald  violence and bloodshed. We must seek the wisdom to change  the direction  we in the Free World have taken over the past few years.

It has never in my lifetime been so imperative that  the people take responsibility for  this course correction and make whatever changes are necessary to  accomplish this task. I have every confidence they will do so in the coming months leading up to the upcoming election of the Leader of the Free World. To do otherwise is to invite disaster beyond imagining.

Terrorism can not be eradicated by returning violence with violence. An act of terrorism is the weapon of the politically weak and religious fanatics. To react in kind is to fuel the fires of hatred which created the terrorist in the first place and any thinking person has to know  that the results will only be to add to their numbers. Those in a position to do so must, for the sake of every citizen of the Free World,  seek a leadership which recognizes the fact that waging war on entire countries without the sanction of the world community  is as much an act of terrorism as the crime they seek to address. When one ignores the Rule of Law which safeguards us and instead turns to brute force and violence to achieve their objectives the primary victim of such action is democracy itself.

 One only has to listen and think, really think , about all the events of recent months to know that  truth has been one of the first victims of the mindset which has led us to this point in time. Playing on the fears of those they have sworn to serve as a means of achieving support for their actions  most assuredly is not praiseworthy nor is it in keeping with the promises of integrity and honour so freely espoused when seeking the power they coveted so assiduously.

 If freedom as we have always known it is to survive the threat of terrorism we all face  we must pray that reason and conciliation amongst nations replace arrogance and rancour as the tools of negotiation. The peoples of this world  who are forced to adhere to a set of rules set out by a nation which flaunts it's might  will not, and have not ever accepted the subjugation of their own freedoms without hatred and violence being the natural by-product of such means. We are , by our actions, breeding a generation of  terrorists from whom we will never be freed. Nor will our children and grandchildren. We must rethink  the course of action our countries have chosen before it is too late for all of us.

Only then will the dark foreboding clouds which presently surround us  once again become the light gossamer clouds offering peace and tranquility to all who honour the sacred promise of tomorrow which we owe to every single child on this planet.