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| Arizona Bird of Paradise |
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| Arizona Pincushion Cactus |
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| Arizona Mountain Bee Plant |
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| Arizona Cinchweed |
"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be." –
Anne Frank
This profound thought and may others come from the diary of a thirteen-years-old, Jewish girl, Anne Frank, who lived in hiding from German Nazis from 1942 to 1944 in Amsterdam with her family and others. Eventually, Anne and those hiding with her were found out, sent to concentration camps, and died in captivity, except for her father. They were considered criminals because of their Jewish ethnicity and targeted for eradication.
The quote above is all the more powerful considering that she was trapped inside a secret annex of her father's office building for almost two years before her arrest, deportation, and death. Her remedy for unhappiness resonates today just as much as it did eighty years ago. The sight of a delicate flower growing from a crack in a granite mountain top is a lesson in resilience and endurance. The orderly swirl of seeds within the heart of the sunflower, the iridescent shine of a butterfly wing, the cool damp of a grassy meadow, fresh wind, warm sun, creek water, clouds - miracles of beauty and purpose - nature's reminder of the spirit that binds us all to life.
May all beings know love and peace.
