The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.  It is the source of all art and science.

—Albert Einstein, Physicist, Nobel Prize Winner, 1879 - 1955

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Photographs of the far reaches of the universe always help put things in perspective, don’t you think?

We are so small compared to the enormity of the universe or universes in which we live.

How can our human experiences feel so important when we are only like a grain of sand on the beach.  But our experiences are strong and deeply felt –motivating, throbbing, personal.   Consider the billions of humans that inhabit the planet, each with a unique set of circumstances–how can this be?

Humans are all part and parcel of an intricate web of life and of energy systems.  We are like intelligent, thinking, rational, actionable pieces of a huge puzzle.  Our free will enables us to go anywhere, do anything or think anything we choose.  But we are still enmeshed in a larger design.

We are like sensing, feeling eyes of intelligent life form who wishes to know every condition and every thing that can be. This life form bores easily and so constant change of circumstances enables a fantastic array of experience.

Nature and science rule the heavens, the earth, and the creatures.  Everything works perfectly like a clock that never loses a second of time.  Each element obeys the “laws of nature” that rules it.   It is science, mathematics and nature.   The universe itself is a mystery unfolding as we learn more each day.

This system of which we are a part could not be any more amazing.  Any more complex.  Any more simple.

Hunans have come to count on the certainty of things.  Like the sun coming up in the morning and the seasons following each other just the way they did last year and for aeons gone by.   We all obey the laws of physics.  We all are part of this intricate world which we do not own and cannot control.

And still, even if we are attempting to maintain balance and equilibrium in our day to day life, we cannot.  Exigent circumstances compel change anyway.  Life is like a moving target.  The seasons change, we age.  People come and go.  Our health changes.  Our family grows up.  Friends and loved ones pass.

I can’t help it because I am getting the strongest feeling that our world is getting an overdue attitude adjustment from years of abuse of power and wealth.  Maybe it is just me.  But, it doesn’t seem so.

More than once in recent history have we gone through changes in civics because of imbalances in power and wealth.  Many governmental systems have been put into place over and over again to balance these things.  None have worked.

But this thing called physics is put in play…call it kinetics.  To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.  We have years of growth followed by recession.  We have people who want more capital gains than they could have thought possible so they put their money with Bernie Madoff.  We have mortgage lending to people without the ability to pay, but others who directly benefit from the insane scheme.  Greed leads to fraud.

So, when our security is threatened one way or another, the individual has to find another way to grow to love life and to remember to feel the joy that life brings.  Maybe it is finding a way out of the dilemma one finds oneself in.  Maybe it is taking a look at the simpler pleasures: like biting into a perfect Fuji apple and experiencing delight.

The pendulum swings in one direction, then another.  No one is left untouched.  It is the game of life and everyone plays.  Active or inactive, the game just keeps going on.  We are all a part of something so much bigger than just our “self”.

This is the mystery of life.  And the mystery is so complex that no one will ever figure out the whole thing.  That is precisely what is so interesting about this mystery.  All we can do is participate fully, feel deeply and enjoy the experience.   Even the hurts we feel invoke great feeling and lead to an improved person.  You. Me.  The purpose of life is to experience joy.  Even the pain is a lesson to focus on the joy that is under that pain.  The mystery is there for us to explore to the fullest.

In times of great stress or adversity, it’s always best to keep busy, to plow your anger and your energy into something positive.

—Lee Iacoca, American Businessman, 1924 to present

Ok, the health of the United States and its sagging economy is getting to me and everyone I know.  After saying this online in one forum, I got resounding agreement from the group because, at this point, everyone has been affected in some way or another.  The stock market, the recession, the economy, job losses, lost investments, war, bankrupt states, mergers, sub-prime mortgages, social security, the health of the governments and schools.  Prices are going up, incomes going down.  Add this together and it spells stress.

Pick up a newspaper, listen to the radio, turn on the television and you are bombarded with dismal news and crisis.   It is no wonder that many people are in crisis, domestic violence is way up.  People have real tragedy from lost jobs, houses and retirement income that were once secure.

Being stressed out has become a national epidemic which has significant long term negative effects to our health.  Chronic stress, which we cannot avoid at this time in our life, has been linked to high blood pressure and heart disease and many other illnesses.

In times of life crisis, the first thing I do is go back to basics.  Eating right, getting enough sleep, and mandatory physical exercise everyday. It is not actually the stress that kills us, it is our reaction to stress that is the killer.

And, even more important than staying mentally and physically active, is keeping matters in perspective by staying focuses on the present moment.  By forming strategies to improve your situation in the present, you can master movement into a new position.   Acquiring a positive attitude is a mental habit that is far preferable to sitting around thinking about the worst case scenario and imagining yourself walking into that terrible scenario.

Generally, we can feel better about things when viewed from gratitude about the good things that we have in life, whatever they are. Not to be too obnoxious, but I can even build a case that the stress is a good thing because it can motivate us to make some long overdue changes to our life.  But the main thing is to build a habit of not sitting and stewing over the bad investment, poor choice of marriage partner, lost job, or sunken property value that is now afflicting us.

Reviewing the situation over and over again creates anxiety and increases the stress.  This reaction constitutes worry and anxiety which, over time, can negatively impact the immune system and weaken resistance to infection and the ability to recover.  Pretty soon sleep is affected or addictions invoked which only makes it worse.

The stress source itself is not the problem, it is the way we view it and keep it unresolved in our mind.

Are there compulsive behavior patterns that have emerged?  Mindless eating, drinking, smoking?  Buying things that you don’t really need but want?    It is really fantastic to notice what sometimes goes on automatic and become mindful and aware of it –and change for the better.   And, there are so many ways we can change for the better.

If you like, turn off the television and the radio in an effort to stop listening to the bad news distributed by the media.

Doing something simple like taking a walk or exercising can be a great help.  There are many other ways of focusing time and attention to productive and clarifying strategies.  Read.  Eat well balanced meals. Take some time for yourself.  Productive methods of mental management can calm us and move us mentally to a more positive attitude by taking our mind off our problems and learning something new.

They say that exercise increases the endorphin or “feel good” levels in your body while stress increases the cortisol or stress hormones which set about tearing metabolic systems down.  Do things that make you feel good.

Spend time with people who support you and love you can be a great way to take your mind off your problems.  Play. Talk.  Laugh.  Do something together.  Start celebrating the good things that life offers with the people who really matter to you.

Learn for yourself that you are not your job, your house or your finances.  You are a beautiful human being.

Everything should turn out fine in the end.  We come into this world alone and empty handed and we end up leaving just the same way.  The goal of life is to achieve happiness and joy despite all of the trials and tribulations that each of us encounters along the way.

You do not control the future and cannot predict what might happen next.  All you can do is steer the boat in the direction that you want to go and let the wind fill the sails to take you where you may want to go.

What an incredible turn of events we are experiencing now.  If you ask me, this scene is all about learning precisely what is important in life and putting the emphasis to those things.