Editorial / Our Rain Forests 

By now you may be wondering what’s up with the paper. About the time I was to be working on the January issue I found myself in the hospital with pneumonia, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. This trio of symptoms would lead me to new insights and the opportunity to restructure my life. For this am grateful.

This time period has become a test of my faith and a challenge of my beliefs. Having to revisit old thoughts, some long forgotten, and examine the choices I have made through my many years did not excite me at the time. To be honest, I’m allergic to pain—physical and emotional!

The other side of this coin is that I recognized that what I sought could not come from the outside.

Most of us have heard it so often it can become a moot point…we must go inside for our answers. Somewhere on this inner journey there lies layer upon layer of information that we have accumulated about our world and ourselves. The question is, how do we get to the point of knowing what data is truth and which is false? Then, what part does denial play in our lives? Which inner voices repeat over and over their archives of data which we respond to without conscious forethought?

And what about the times when the “light bulbs” go off and the pathway is made clear? I believe that when this happens it is our golden opportunity to build upon the new realized foundation and gain a truer life experience.

An outcome of my stay in the hospital is that there is more of a willingness to listen to my council. In fact, as I sit here the images of two cartoon characters, the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other remind me of those voices I so often hear in my head. The only difference is, with the characters sitting on each side of me, I can hear from both sides, the negative and the positive, and can smile at the antics of my constant chattering friends…

I’ve been known to take life too seriously; however, by consciously picturing these characters life seems less serious. So my friends, this months advice is…please keep it simple and know that it’s all simple. Take care and have a safe and blessed 2006.

In Love & Light

Michelene