In closing...

Though it's a difficult thing to learn, and an even more difficult thing to do, practice giving yourself empathy and compassion first and foremost.

You're gonna fall, that's ok, let it happen, let it pass...

You'll get back up, and you'll move forward still...

Basically, I guess what I'm saying is...

Happiness, contentment, and being ok aren't a destination where I.. where you.. where anyone can just stay and dwell...

It's an ever shifting pathway that will always have its tripping hazards that will bring you down.

Learning to get back up is key.

There is no universal happiness in my life.
There are bright spots, yes, absolutely.
There are people, and things, and events, and places, that no matter what bring happiness.

But understanding, and accepting, that those things, those people, aren't always in the here and now is hard.

And that's the rub.
That I have to learn how to be ok with those moments, days, weeks, maybe months, when I'm not.

To accept that they will come, I can't stop it, and I'll have to be in those moments at those places...

And I have to be, at minimum, ok with it coming and going.

And finally, a Knightia Eocaena fossilized fish from the green river formation in Wyoming.

Then, a Mosasaur Tooth with root in matrix.
It also contains other fossils of unspecified fish vertebrae, and a shark took poking out near the tip of the mosasaur tooth.

First we have a really gorgeous sample of Epidote from the Hakkari district of Turkey
A small pyramid shaped cluster of quartz is apparent on the 'underside' of the sample.
Approximately 4 inches across at the widest points.
Pictures do not do it justice, at all.

Thanks for having me again this year.

Last year's and this year's have been yearly highlights for me.

It really is, such a perfect size.
It's got a good heft to it despite its delicate look.