WHEN THE NEWS of the world is bad (though trending better) I try to remind myself daily that there are other important, vital things to attend to. Things having to do with being a live human being, free on the earth. Things like a cup of coffee in my grandad’s old chair. A winding forest lane. A council of pine elders peering down as they have for 130 years or more. The green softness of moss. The shining of balsam fir needles in the morning sun. The look of brilliant blue sky through the limbs of red oak, white oak, and birch. Frost on maple leaves and bent blades of grass. The sun sparkling on favorite rocks gathered from favorite places. The friendly feeling of an old cabin in the woods, or any good place one is lucky to call home.