May my thoughts and actions become just as beautiful as the alpine ice and snow of which they are a humble human expression.

Each winter, I spend quite a bit of time sitting, crawling around and lying down on mountain lakes, enthralled with the various patterns, forms and sculptures that alpine ice and snow can take.

Even more amazing is the fact that this ice-and-snow will one day circulate through my body - after it thaws, enters the adjacent stream, and makes its way to my tap.

I ask that my thoughts and actions - "lubricated' as they are by such an amazing substance - may become just as beautiful as the sacred, noble, sculptured ice of which they are a humble human expression.

Photo: Ice "waves" on Lake Hiayaha, with Hallett Peak in the background; Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; March 17, 2014