In times of political, social, and economic upheaval like those we are now going through, it is essential to remember what is important and pause with those memories.

For example, last night I spent an evening with friends I have known for over forty years. If we are lucky, we see one another once a year. When we get together, we never have to “start over” or “start from scratch.” We immediately pick up where we left off and dive in solving the problems of ourselves, Europe, America and the planet.

All points of view are clarified and new discoveries are shared. Our “spheres of knowledge” are always very different. Yet, these “spheres” play around, bounce off one another and birth new spheres as we discuss, re-discuss and lovingly disagree and agree on or about everything.

Our backgrounds are very different and yet, we never lack for old and new topics to seek to understand ourselves, our societies, our planet and the universe at many levels.

Just the happiness we all feel as we come together for these few days is one of the best tonics ever.

Add to all the above that we are meeting in Seefeld, Austria in the midst of the breathtaking Tyrolean Alps where the air is so clear you cannot see it (unlike some of the cities we have had to travel through to get here!). The lake greets us every morning with bird sounds as the snowcapped mountains literally surround us, and the moon reflects off the newly fallen wisps of snow.

Beauty like this always puts the insanity of politics in perspective and allows us to “take a breath.”

If we let the awareness in, there are always so many experiences in our lives that let us “take a breath” – the beauty of nature, the sky at sunrise, the full moon in a clear sky, a new day, the gurgle of a contented baby, the cry of a discontented baby, people we love who love us – –

Thank goodness politics, businesses, money and the economy are only passing constructs that, in contrast, help us appreciate what is real.