Mother Earth

     I just returned from Albuquerque, New Mexico where I attended the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta with my wife, sister, and brother-in-law.  We were fortunate to take a hot-air balloon ride where we flew for about 1 1/2 hours, and rose as high as 9,000 feet.  Upon landing, we were treated to a champagne toast, a French custom for hot-air ballooning, and our pilot read the following Irish Balloonist Prayer:

The winds have welcomed you with softness

The sun has blessed you with it's warm hands

You have flown so high and so well

That God has joined you in laughter

And may set you gently back again

Into the loving arms of Mother Earth

     Flying silently above the land brings a form of serenity and calm to what is often a frenzied existence on earth.   You may not have the opportunity to ride in a hot-air balloon (although I strongly suggest that you put it on your Bucket List), but we all should strive to duplicate that serenity and calm in our lives as we go about our activities here in the loving arms of Mother Earth.