1.0Fresh Livinghttps://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/freshlivinghrossihttps://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/freshliving/author/hrossirich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="tIDa98J81m"><a href="https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/freshliving/2009/08/fresh-morning-sacred-lotus.html">Fresh Morning: Sacred Lotus</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/freshliving/2009/08/fresh-morning-sacred-lotus.html/embed#?secret=tIDa98J81m" width="600" height="338" title="“Fresh Morning: Sacred Lotus” — Fresh Living" data-secret="tIDa98J81m" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> I was at the National Zoo in Washington, DC this weekend with my nephews, and the best time to take such an outing is in the morning, before the staggering heat of a mid-Atlantic summer day sets in.  In addition to the pandas, elephants, and meercats (aw…) that we saw, one of my favorite sightings…http://blog.beliefnet.com/freshliving/sun1.jpg