The Dalai Lama was recently in Bloomington, Indiana. Although that's not very far from where I live, I was not able to attend the event but I have been fortunate to see and hear him speak in the past. He is an "awakened one". I found him to be deep, very human, and funny. It's no secret that I am a great fan of this holy man. Although I am a Christian by birth and upbringing, I consider the Dalai Lama the most important and influential spiritual leader in the world today. When Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa were still alive, I thought the greatest spiritual influences in the world at the time were John Paul, The Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa and Billy Graham. Of course, there are many holy men and women in the world today but few are on the world stage. Why can't we find and elect more men like Mohandas Gandhi or Nelson Mandela to be our leaders? The solutions to most of the problems in this country and the world are spiritual in nature. The problems of humanity will not be cured with guns and bombs.
In my part of the world we are finally in autumn. The greenness and abundance of summer is giving way to harvest time and the seeming death of nature. It is not really a death. It is a transition to the new life we will see in the spring. Before that time, however, we will experience great beauty that will lead us into the cold and barrenness of winter. As the trees and bushes and flowers turn inward, in a manner of speaking, it is also a good time for us to turn inward. It is a great time to reflect on our own abundance and the beauty of so many things in life. In a few weeks or months, when the winter arrives, the seeds of next spring will be germinating within nature and within
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