Put a little sunbeam in your life.

(And I'm not talking about bread.)

Here in the southern Midwest -- yeah, that is a region -- we have lately been blessed with some gorgeous 50 degree weather and sunshine uninhibited by clouds. And I don't say all this to gloat (although the thought did cross my mind). Due to this wonderful weather, lately I've been spending more time out of doors, enjoying the air and sky, etc. And I realized that in my life as a student I am too apt to spend most of my time slaving over a stack of books or a computer. "This is a waste of the earth's beauty!" I said to myself. Well, not so eloquently or elegantly as that, but I did think something along those lines.

So, whoever you are, wherever you are, I urge you to take a few more minutes out of your day to appreciate the beauty of the earth. If you've got fresh air where you live, breathe it in. Or if you've got a beautiful landscape around, reflect on it a few minutes. If you've got neither of the above, don't despair. Joy can be found in the loneliest flower or even in the people passing you by as you gaze. Everywhere on earth has some semblance of the sublime. We're charged with finding it, and not taking it for granted when we do.

Beautiful Mono Lake, Calif.

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Oh Lord, my God

when I in awesome wonder

consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my savior God to Thee,

"How great Thou art!"