Recently my mother reminded me of a poem I wrote when I was 17. I was attending a religious youth retreat where we were instructed to find a quiet place to reflect and write our personal creed, or belief statement. (Those of you with a Catholic heritage will remember The Nicene Creed.)

The memory is still a very vivid one for me, as I wandered out into the beautiful Montana countryside to stop along a marvelous spring brook, the kind that only exist during the run-off months and disappear during the rest of the year. I was entranced by the beauty and the sounds of the bubbling life around me. I spent 25 minutes of the allotted 30 just absorbing and delighting in the vitality of it all. In the remaining 5 minutes I hurriedly scrawled the following: (I have edited only the first line to better reflect my current belief.)

I believe in the Spiritual Unity of the ONE.
I believe in laughing, playing, and having fun.
I believe in poems and the scenes behind the words.
I believe in blooming flowers, flowing rivers and chirping birds.
I believe in helping others to achieve their dream.
I believe I can endure no matter how great the odds may seem.
I believe in children and the wondrous things they see.
I believe today’s the best day, and I believe in ME.

I’m delighted to find that overall things haven’t changed for me much. Now sitting on my patio, which cannot begin to compare with that Montana field, I am still moved by that same spring beauty as it is carried in the smell of the air, the sound of the birds, the vibrant young soccer players across the street and even the rhythmic flow of the traffic beneath me. And somehow, like that miraculous brook, Spirit returns and flows through me now. It is up to me to remember this stream even in the times of my life when it appears to have dried up. I must carry faith that the cycle is constant and replenishing. And for now, I need only drink deeply and delight that it is here with me now.