Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Boring. What is it?

Why do we think that people are boring?

I was talking with a friend once, and he said “I’m sorry I can be boring.  Thanks for putting up with me.”  I was heartbroken.  Boring? Him? Never! Boring people don’t exist, just like normal doesn’t exist.  Here’s why:

Boring is based on perspective.  What I find boring, someone else finds fascinating.  Take an experience with my brother, Joshua.  One time, while we were driving, we saw those giant wind mills, you know, the ones that create electricity and are supposed to save the world, and he decided to just figure out the conversion between energy produced by coal, and energy produced by wind.  Using MATH!  I don’t like math.  I think it is one of the most “boring” things on the planet.  However, I LOVE reading.  I love getting lost into a book, or lost writing a book.  I love that aspect of life that some people find “boring.”  Many people that I talk to hate getting lost in a book.

Another example: I LOVE musical theater and symphony concerts. Many people don't like them. I LOVE watching football, but I can't sit through a baseball game.  I think they are one of the most beautiful experiences in life.  I don’t love longboarding (for obvious reasons).  I find it "boring" and terrifying.  But others love it and don’t love musical theater.  Perspective.

Even another example:  I love Monet.  I think his paintings are soothing and interesting.  I don’t love Jackson Polluck.  I find his stuff "boring".  There are others who feel the exact opposite.  

We can’t compare others.  We can’t decide that a singer is boring, because he is only boring to US.  “Boring” and “Fascinating” are based on our personal interests, our personal taste, our personal likes and dislikes.  The spice of life is that we are different.  It is nice that not everyone loves gingers (there just aren’t enough of us to go around!).  It is nice that not everyone loves History or Math or English or Dance.  We are meant to love different things and embrace our diversity.  

So, when you think that someone is boring, even if that someone is yourself, remember that there is someone out there that thinks you are FASCINATING!  And if you don’t know if anyone would think you are fascinating, remember there are at least a few people who always think that.  I do, your mom does, and God does.  Keep your chin up, darling.  You are FANTASTIC!

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Fog, and the path to happiness

Hey all:) 

Today I decided to go to the temple. I wanted to go to the Draper temple, but I didn't quite know how to get there. I used maps on my phone to get there. For those of you who don't live in the Utah valley, today there was very heavy fog. Now, living in the desert of Gallup, New Mexico, I haven't seen many days with fog.  In fact, I can count on one hand how many times I have seen fog.  It's just not something you normally see. So this was a new experience, especially fog this thick. 

I digress.  While driving to the Draper temple, faithfully following my GPS, it said I had arrived at my destination. Dubious, I looked around. "This doesn't look like its around the temple," I thought.  And then the thought came, "look up!" The temple was right in front of me! I had made it. Unfortunately, I didn't think my trip through and didn't look up the temple hours before I got there. The temple is closed for cleaning. So, I got in my car and drove to the Oquirrh mountain temple. I had been to this one w couple times, and drove by it a lot when I lived with my grandparents the week before I moved into my apartment back in August. I knew where to go, but, once again, the fog was shrouding the temple from my view. I had to trust my previous knowledge that it was there. Once again, it didn't show itself to me until I was just about to turn into the parking lot. 

These two experiences spurned thoughts about eternal happiness, God, the road to happiness, etc. Here are some of my thoughts from today (not exactly in the bathtub, but still good thoughts😊). 

Oftentimes on the path to eternal happiness, we can't see where we are going, but we trust our GPS (Gospel Positioning System) to guide us where we need to go. There are obstacles blocking the end from our view. There are mountains we may need to climb or go around. The night might be upon us. There may be fog clouding our vision up to the point that we are at our destination. 

Sometimes we have been there before and must trust our knowledge of where it should be. Sometimes we have never been there, and must rely on another's directions to guide us through. We trust that our GPS will not lead us astray, so we follow its guidance and direction. Often we make a wrong turn, but the great thing about GPS is that it can redirect from anywhere and get us to our final destination safely, even if it is a different road than others take. 

God knows the path to our eternal happiness. He's the one that showed it to us, or the prophets whose voice we follow (our GPS). He knows how to direct us through and around the obstacles. If we but have faith in His GPS, we will receive to happiness promised to us, and may even enjoy the journey and the view along the way. Nothing Satan puts in our path (detours, construction, speed bumps), our Heavenly Father will help us navigate beyond them. If we but follow His path, whether it be one we have travelled before, or one we have never seen, we can trust that he will "lead [us], guide [us], walk beside [us]." He will not fail us nor forsake us. All we need to do is have faith in his plan, his direction, his commandments, and his GPS.