WHY DO WE SEEK EDUCATION?

In the heat of the political season I ask myself what does education provide? The question is easy enough to answer politically. It helps provide a step up the ladder. It sure does!

But is that enough of an answer? Because of simplistic rhetoric, I wonder can we meet the challenges ahead when so many of us remain uneducated, unfed people? Can we remain insensitive to the difference of others while being manipulated by dogma, political or religious?

Is the answer to all this the size of our government or an ism? I think not. Education gives us tools to measure the realities of our past, to appreciate today's opportunities, and help us recognize leaders who can lead us through the challenges of the future.

SPECIAL GIFT FROM NATURE

Recently I was given a small bouquet of purple and white flowers from an event I had attended. When I brought them home, I snipped their stems, freshened their water and placed them near a window filled with sunshine.

They thrived for about two weeks. When it came time to throw them out, I noticed two small flowers, still sturdy and with two unopened buds on their stem. On the chance the buds might still open, I saved them and placed them in the sunny window. Two days later, much to my delight, one bud opened.

As nature begins her new cycle of seasons and I begin my own season of contemplation, I feel as if I have been presented with a very special gift. I extend the hope for the same sense to all readers, friends and family.