Lakeside Reflections

My main responsibility on last weeks Ranch House Retreat was supervising the swimming and boating on the lake.  Fortunately I was able to do this from the comfort of my hammock that I brought along.  This provided me more time than I had expected to be able to read so I was able to conclude the book I brought and begin a new one.  Since I had only brought one, I was left to start The Dairy of Anne Frank as it was available at the ranch house and I have wanted to read it for some time.  I found it very interesting and sad, as you would imagine.  But one of the main thoughts that crossed my mind was the difference between that dairy which was private and probably not meant to be read by millions of people throughout history and this diary that is obviously very public.  It is interesting to me how private thoughts are probably more remarkable than public ones.

The best remedy for those who are frightened, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere they can be alone, alone with the sky, nature and God. 

For then and only then can you feel that everything is as it should be and

God wants people to be happy amid nature’s beauty and simplicity.

~ Anne Frank, Feb. 23, 1944