What I've learned.

This list is from a while back but the lessons I learned still apply.  I hope this helps someone…yup.

 1.  All things will end up fixed whether it’s the way you want it or not.

 2.  Crying makes you feel better…so let yourself cry.

 3.  Pray!  Always pray.

 4.  Keep going to church NO MATTER WHAT!!

 5.  Holding on to the anger and hurt only makes the wound deeper.

 6.  Let go and forgive.  Allow yourself to move on.

 7.  Go to the temple or think of the temple as often as you can.  Great strength is given by your righteous desires.

 8.  Read your scriptures.  Read anything from them that is worth reading.

 9.  Talk about what you are feeling, even if it’s out loud to yourself.

10.  Recognize your part in your life and do all you can to fix whatever is wrong with you.

11.  Don’t pity yourself.  Go to work.

12.  Most importantly:  Have a positive attitude, have faith, and hold tightly to the Lord.

Climbing

Have you ever had an experience where you felt like you were climbing and climbing and there would never be an end to the climbing?  I know I have.  I was thinking about that today and a few things came to mind.  First, is the mountain you are climbing really big enough to keep going?  I mean, there are some problems that really are as big as they feel but, there are others that are tiny molehills.  The first step to figuring out how to handle the problem is to find out how big it is(that way you don't waste more energy than is necessary figuring it out).

The second thing I thought about was whether or not you actually need to keep climbing.  There are times when mountain climbers have to stop and rest for a while.  Sometimes they stop because they are tired.  Other times they stop because the weather is too bad or they need to be acclimated.  If you are tired from climbing, take a break.  Maybe you need to adjust to what is going on in the moment before moving on to the next incline.  Perhaps if you keep going things will only get messier and more complicated and problematic.  Make sure you really need to be climbing before you waste time doing so.

The third thing is that you always need to remember that there is an end to the mountain.  Sooner or later, you will reach the top.  You will stand on the peak and look out at all the beauty in front of you and behind you.  You will see how far you've come and how many obstacles you overcame.  There will be a feeling of accomplishment and great thanksgiving when you finally see all that you have done.

God says to us in Alma 26 that "when our hearts [are] depressed....behold, the Lord [comforts] us, and [says]:  Go...and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."

Go and have patience.  Look at the mountain you are climbing and make sure you are doing what is needful.

Call Me

I don't know if anyone else feels this way but, I love loving people.  I love helping others.  It makes me so happy.  I love listening to what others have to say about their lives.  Actually, I find lives incredibly intriguing.  We are so dimensional and multifaceted.  We have our own situations and even the similar ones are different.  Learning how others view their lives and what they want to do with them or where they want them to go is fascinating.
I also believe that talking everything out makes the weight leave you.  So, I work to make myself available at any time so that others can have a listening ear and a loving heart to talk to.  I have spent years learning how to love and accept anyone for who they are, no matter what.  I want to be someone that people can come to and know that what they say to me will never make my opinion of them change.  I want to be the person they can call for any reason and I will help as much as I can.  I want others to feel that I love them.  I want them to feel comfortable.
Plus, loving people helps you forget yourself.  It helps you really tune in on the other person which, in turn, makes you forget all of your problems.  Focusing on others helps me relate to them better; I have more empathy and sympathy.  I am a better tool in the Lord's hand.  I can touch people that need to be touched.  I can do great things with love.
LOVE.  It's the best thing you can do.  :)

Where's your focus?

You know how you always feel like your problem is the biggest one?  You focus on what's wrong with you and become consumed in your own problems.  Well, I've learned that my problems are not as big as others'.  Today, I spoke with my friend who is going through a tough trial.  She lost her father to cancer a while ago and, now, her mother is slowly dying from cancer in her back.  My friend is not even thirty but her parents will both be gone.  She exhibits so much strength and faith every day.  She lives with her mom, or relatively close, and watches her as each day she gets a little more unhealthy.  But, my friend loses no hope.  She has faith in the plan of happiness, where families can be together forever.  She has faith that God knows us all and watches us and helps us.  She has faith that Jesus Christ suffered for us and that he is the greatest comforter we can ask for.  She is such a brave young lady and her mom is such brave example to all of us of happiness and faith.

Our problems are big to us but, if we can look around us, we can find others who struggle too.  We can find people who need love and support even when they don't know it.  We can strengthen ourselves by strengthening others.  We can spread love and healing and peace.  We can show our faith by looking past ourselves and focusing on others.

Goals and Beliefs

I believe that everything happens for a reason, whether we intentionally made something happen through our choices or not.  We cannot control how others interact with us and what they do.  We can't control the disasters that come into our lives that we had nothing to do with.  However, we can control our reactions to the events that happen to us.  We have a choice on how we handle our life situations.  I believe that everything that happens to us has a purpose that we need to discover.  Events don't just happen to happen.  If there is a reason for everything, there is a reason you are experiencing what you are experiencing.  The answer may not be obvious.  The answer may not even come until years down the road.  But, answers do come; we will know why things happen.  The answers we receive, the discoveries that we make, may not be what we wanted to learn or what we thought we learned, but we still learn them.  We still grow.

My life is not unique with what I have experienced and the lessons I have learned are not unique either but, they are unique to me and have made me who I am.

 I am making the journey through life one day at a time.