If you could but treat your life as a poem, how wonderful life would be! A poem is what it is. Poems affect you. And with each poem you read, your grasp of life grows. Something has been said, and you have heard it.

Poetry names things for you, so when you read a poem, your heart says: "Oh, yes. This is how it is. This is what I would have said if I had thought of it. The poet has said it for me. He has said it in his own words, but his words are also mine. He is like the diviner of my sense of life on earth."

How beautiful is one petal from a tree! How beautiful is one tree. How beautiful is one Human Being. Oh, the beauty! A Human Being is a delightful sight. Think a moment of what it is to have a Human Being before you. It is like having the Kohinoor diamond. The only thing is that when you have the diamond in front of you, alas, you are often in ignorance of the value. That must be what purgatory is, beloveds — to have a treasure and not know its true value. Imagine thinking that a diamond is a bauble! Imagine thinking that the Kohinoor diamond is glass!

How can anyone be depressed when trees grow and flowers bloom? How can any heart feel depressed when even one apple grows on a tree? When one baby smiles. When there is even one such a thing as a baby gerbil to steal your heart. When there is music. When every forest is a work of art. When a crayon can make a mark on paper. When children play. When there are choo-choo trains. When there are puddles to stomp in. When winds blow. When blossoms that fall nourish their trees for the next year. When everything has a purpose. When purpose has a purpose.

Everything beautiful in life reminds you of Heaven. Jewelry is a reminder of Heaven. Art. Music. Nature, of course. Woodlands and ocean. Babies. Anything that helps you draw in your breath in awe is a symbolic reminder of Heaven. Each reminder gets tacked into your heart. We could say these tacks put you together. We could also say they leave tiny holes that long to be filled.

How can a heart that longs for truth yet be cruel? Cruelty has lengths, but you have all touched it even if only in thought. Why does cruelty so consume your mind? Why does an ill-advised action of another consume you? Why does your belief in evil on Earth make you doubt Me? Doubt the cruelty instead. It is an aberration. It is an insult to My love. But dwell on My love and not the insult of the world. The more you dwell on My love — the more you immerse yourself in My love — the less cruelty will manifest anywhere.