"The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real state, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love and faith."
- Bertrand Russell

I went on a beautiful hike this morning up Cowles Mountain. It is a very popular hike; up hill for a 1 1/2 mile, at the top a 360 degree panoramic view of San Diego, and then an easy jog down. I have hiked it with quite a few friends last year and my mother who used to trailblaze Cowles mountain before it was ever a "hike". This morning was the first time I hiked it alone. There are so many people on the trail though that it's hardly fair to say I was alone.
During this 45 minute hike, I was thinking about the wonderful relationships that were begun in my life last year and have enriched it so much! I feel more loving, accepting, and trusting of myself and others since before I was born ( I'm sure I've felt it before, it's a familiar feeling). I know it's because the people in my life; love, accept and trust me. They are mirrors of my internal state of being. True gratitude and contentment was my state of being this morning, and it's a beautiful place.