The Simple Things of Life

My wealth is all the riches of the earth; yet in my pockets there is only the rattle of a few small coins. There are treasures more precious than the gems and jewels which filled the strong boxes of Croesus. Covetous Midas, unhappy soul, asked the gods for the golden touch, and, having received it, knew only affliction. Wiser men have gotten greater pleasures from the simpler things of life than the miser has from his hoard. The latter, blinded by the glitter of gold, has not seen the wondrous things that make our little world such an enchanted place. He, too, deafened by the clink of the counting house, is unaware of the divine music in the dulcet, everyday symphonies which comes forth from the earth and from the merry creatures peopling it. A favored person is he who knows the song of birds, music composed by angels. A thousand violins cannot serenade a new day as sweetly and as melodiously as a little bird's paean to the rising sun. There is harmony in whirring insect wing. Even frogs in a pond, their voices raised in unharmonic orchestration, sing a song of contentment, and the cricket song is one of happiness.

BY MIKE ROBERTS "Sounds of the Earth Are Like Music"

Scene: Tonto Natural Bridge. Season: Ab, Spring!

Richer than his neighbors is the one who has the treasured friendship of the trees of the earth. In the high mountains it may be a pine or a spruce, good companions for one along a fishing stream. In the desert it may be a smoke tree, an iron wood or a sycamore, wonderfully solicitous of your well-being in your moments of rest and contemplation. Cactus flowers and the myriad of strange plants of canyon, mesa, and plateau enrichen your life by acquaintance with them. The better you know them the friendlier and more interesting they are because they are full of surprises and they never grow boring like a tale thrice told. Even the familiar creatures of the barnyard offer pleasure and serenity to the beholder; so natural and unassuming are they. In truth, all of God's creatures are images of their Divine Creator and yours is a fuller and richer life if you can pause long "Sycamores A Trio"

BY ESTHER HENDERSON

Sleepy P.M. Rillito Wash,

Enough to learn of them. And what golden memories are invoked by the masterpieces of Nature, creations, too, of God's hand. There is beauty in the land far greater than the splendor of the king's jewels, waiting but to be sought out by the traveler. These must be understood as well as seen. The canyon is more than a slash in the earth. It is a miracle of erosion and testimony to the patient force of the wind and sun. A mountain is more than a formidable landmark. It is a chapter in the story of the earth; it is geology and botany and history. It changes with the time of the day and with the season. The soaring heights give spiritual inspiration to the mountain man as he surveys the land below. In short, he who knows and cherishes the simple things, whether mice or mountains, has in his possession all the riches of the earth.... R.C.