It was wonderful to see the placid water of this lake one summer day.  The ripples moved slowly when the rain stopped and no one there could reach the middle of nowhere but my gazing eyes searching for the true meaning of peacefullness.  It’s in this kind of place I feel inner tranquility, far away from the topsy-turvy surroundings caused by human agitation.  It’s in this kind of place I want to say this prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

I can’t help but to feel sad when I see broken glasses of the bus stop and when I hear the schools being destroyed and burned.  The culprits of this massive destruction are the youth who are supposed to be the hope of the nation.  When the situation seems out of control,  the lake and the prayer are my solitude to escape the reality of the outside world – for  a while.