It can seem sometimes as if our world is whirling faster than we can keep up with. Our favorite restaurant where a key event in our life took place shutters its doors without warning. A website storing decades of our financial data gets hacked by miscreants. Brave people step forward and we realize a public figure we had faith in was never worthy of that trust. It can become overwhelming. Exhausting.

A balm which rejuvenates is to explore the creative efforts of individuals around us. To begin, turn off the noise and clatter of the world at large. Take a deep breath and instead focus on connecting with one fellow human being who presents their jewel of a thought to you. Examine it mindfully. Consider its meaning. Soak in the moment with this one human. Then connect with another. And another. You will probably find that even though we have different backgrounds, eat different foods, have different skin colors, and wear different clothes, that we share common bonds. Most of us wish to be loved. To have safe shelter. To have ample food to eat. To have someone recognize us as a meaningful member of our society.

Our artwork reminds that this beautiful Earth we all share presents stunning images every day to restore us. We just need to take that moment to look at the glistening of ice. The petals of a flower. The curl in an ocean wave.

Poets also nudge us into opening our senses a bit wider. To appreciate the wisps of morning fog. The delicate cluster of flowers. The flash of a warbler's wings and the touch of a loved one's hand.

Fiction takes us places where we think "what if." What if the government disagreed with your view and locked you away. What if a momentary act of kindness led to something dark. Would it make you rethink your willingness to help others? Or would you persevere, knowing there were so many in our world whose lives could be changed by a small, simple action?

Non-Fiction is the opening of another person's soul. A person realizes their true soul-lifting "home" was far from where they were born. A single step changes a family's life forever. A chance encounter leads to a deep friendship.

It can be easy, when the world becomes chaotic and shifting, to draw within. To shun and fear the 'others'. To give up on kindness. But every major religion and system of spirituality reminds us to care for each other. To love one another. To start each new day with a fresh heart. When we think of the Good Samaritan, we might not realize how much, at the time, the Jews and Samaritans hated each other. Somehow this one man saw past that. He saw, not a Jew, but a fellow human being in need of help. We are all, in this world, fellow human beings. We should all put out a hand and clasp those who have fallen. For when we, ourselves, fall, we would hope for a hand to reach to us. Whatever its color or culture. We all share this one Earth together.

Lisa Shea