THE HEALING SOUTH

Each day, as we made our way through the Southern States toward Florida, we felt the sun grow warmer and watched the signs of spring appear. It had been a hard winter in many ways. The loss, at Christmas, of a beloved child and the recent assignments of two military grandsons, one to Iraq and the other to Korea, had left us bearing weights on both our hearts and minds. The frigid, below normal, temperatures and endless ice and snow seemed to reinforce our sad and somber state of mind . It was time for relief. We accepted the thoughtful invitation of a friend to visit her St. Augustine, Florida home. We drove down, avoiding the stress of tourist filled airports. As the countryside of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and finally, Florida unfolded warmly before us, we felt our spirits lift. We became aware of Life’s many truths taking place at any one time. We were beckoned to tap into the world of beauty and day to day joys that existed on the other side of our heavy-hearted experience. And, as we rested our minds and regained our perspective by focusing, for a few special days, on the warm, positive qualities of Life being lived, we were renewed in mind and spirit.