My Creed of the Outdoors

"I believe in the wonder of the out-of-doors,
In the inspiration of the stars
And in the allurements of life in the open. 
I believe in the strength of the hills,
In the silence of the night,
And in the music of the birds in the trees. 

I believe also that my body was made for action,
That my mind was made for thinking,
And that my heart was made for loving
In unison with the life of nature. 

I believe that to laugh and to sing,
To swim and to walk, to study and play,
To eat and be happy, to be kind and free,
To grow strong and good is my God-given right. 

I believe, too, that to be happy I must be good,
That to be worthy I must be kind,
That to be loved, I must think love. 

I believe that God is as near as man,
That I can hear Him in the brooks and the pines,
And that happiness and lasting peace are mine,
As I live in the atmosphere of kindness,
So near me in the life of the open road. "

-- Rudolph Carl Stroll