writer | photographer | canoeist | contemplative | My highest value is beauty and excellence. I admire it in nature, ideas, and creations. My second value is truth. I seek it in thinking, relationships, and perception. My third value is kindness. I study religion, literature, and art -- tuned as they are for the heart. I marvel at the sparks of genius that come to all who set themselves a worthy task or question. It is through these values that I am made whole.