Sunday, March 31, 2013

My Greatest Hope

Today is Easter. Many people open gifts, eat candy, search for eggs, and think of the Easter Bunny. I wonder how many people think of Jesus Christ and the gift He gave us. He gave us the gift of immortality. He gave the gift to all people - whether or not they believe in him. To be saved and rise again when we die, what a gift!

I want to live with God in eternity, and I believe that I will. Some people don't believe in God, and that's okay with me. I accept them and hope they will accept me. I believe the scripture that says, "Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess to God." (Romans 14:11) and look forward to His return happening one day.

I believe with all my heart that Jesus is the Messiah, and the Savior of the world. I thank Him for suffering for me so that I can be resurrected and live with God again. I celebrate Jesus Christ today.

Friday, March 29, 2013

(Not) Supporting a Cause

Gay marriage is in the media again. This time the HRC (Human Rights Campaign) is taking the issue to the supreme court. The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) is involved, and NOM (National Organization for Marriage) opposes it. The issue is the word 'marriage'. The HRC and ACLU want the definition of marriage in the law to include three things: 1) between a man and a woman, 2) between two men, and 3) between two women. Currently, in U.S. law, the definition includes one thing - between a man and a woman.

I think that people support causes, but they don't really want them to end. They want the causes to continue because they like the fight. But do they really want the effects of the end result? (For example, gay people want equality and fairness but if they got those things they would just be ordinary people, and, truthfully, the effects are that the wouldn't be in the spotlight. Right now gay people are special; they are in the spotlight.)

Causes (minorities, immigration, race, homosexuality, religion) bring focus to their group. I truly believe that some people want to be a part of a memorable group because they like the attention and because the fight takes the focus off of them not having to work on aspects of their character (like not working on being kinder [or whatever] because they're too busy fighting for their cause.)

Life is full of unfairness. How I respond to the unfair thing tells how I am. If I get angry about the unfair thing, it just says that I'm an angry person. My life will benefit more by me working on controlling my anger than by me supporting a cause. When I die, the cause won't be there but my angry attribute will. Will the HRC, ACLU and NOM help me be kinder? No, I need to do that myself. It seems like loyalty only goes one way, and it doesn't point to me, but to them. How is it fair to me that I need to be loyal to them but they don't need to be loyal to me?

Organizations like the HRC, ACLU, and NOM get involved in causes because they want to win. After the gay marriage result, they will move on to the next cause. It seems like they support people, but, really, they support causes. Those organizations aren't people - they don't have lives - they are companies. They are filled with people, but the harsh reality is that they don't care about the people, they just care about themselves (existing, winning.) Those organizations will do anything to stay in business: they want employee loyalty, but their loyalty is to only themselves. 

After the Supreme Court result, other people (human rights groups, people passionate about the cause, etc.) will work out the details of the gay marriage cause, but the HRC, ACLU and NOM will have moved on to the next thing.

I'm staying out of the fight. I would rather work on my character then support a cause.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Easing My Burdens

I compare trials to The Lord of the Rings. The ring was killing Frodo but when he got to Mt. Doom and held the ring over the fire, he couldn't let it go and instead kept it - he said, "The ring is mine!" 

Some of my burdens are hard, perhaps I feel like they are killing me, but if I hold on to my burdens and don't change to make things better, I just drive myself crazy wishing things were different. I'm a strong person and capable of taking the first step to make things better in my life. 

I know that when I have burdens it's helpful to believe things will be better, to have hope in my heart, and to think good things. (Things don't always look good when I make changes; sometimes I wonder if I should go back, but when I keep moving forward and tell myself that one day the future will be bright, it happens and I feel so happy!)

I don't always get what I want, but I always get what's best for me. Sometimes I make life harder when I don't accept reality and instead want the past. (Divinely speaking: It seems like when I put my trust in God's hands, give my control to Him, and submit my will to Him my life goes better.)

I want to be in charge of my life and be happy, therefore I will do my best to make changes in my life when I'm not happy. I hope change will ease my burdens.

Friday, March 22, 2013

The Successful and the Freeloaders

I heard a Jewish Rabbi (who is very familiar with the Talmud) say that only 20% of the Israelite's left Egypt and followed Moses. The Hebrew Bible says 1/5 of the children of Israel left Egypt. Perhaps the many who stayed said things like, "It's not so bad to be a slave," or "I like Egypt and I'm not leaving," or "My family is staying and I won't leave them." Whatever they might have said the point is that they chose to follow Pharaoh not God.

The percentage seems consistent with the many and the few. Regarding the straight and narrow path, few there be that find it. Regarding the broad path, many there go thereat. Freeloaders say they don't have the same chances as the successful. Wrong! All people have the same chance, but freeloaders choose not to do what it takes to become successful. 

Successful people plan for their future. Freeloaders don't plan - they don't see their future past right now. This truth reminds me of the story about the ants and the grasshopper:

In the summer, the ants gathered food so they'd have something to eat in the winter. The grasshopper just enjoyed the sunshine. In the winter, the ants partied in their warm house and ate their food. Meanwhile, the grasshopper froze outside. He noticed the ants inside all warm and toasty and full of food, so he knocked on their door and asked if he could join them. The ants said yes and gave him shelter and food, whereby the grasshopper did a jig.

Freeloaders have existed since at least the time of Moses, possibly forever, why should anything different be expected today? Successful people will continue to plan and freeloaders will continue to complain that life isn't fair. Successful people will continue to show mercy to freeloaders and each person's actions will say how they are.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Goals and To-Do Lists

Some people make to-do lists that are super long, and then when they don't accomplish everything (impossible) they consider themselves failures and mentally beat themselves up. (People add to their to-do lists because they don't want to forget what they remembered so they write it down.) It's good to have a running to-do list to jog a person's memory to remember something they probably forgot. The problem is that the running list is used as 'today's list'. It's a problem because what's not accomplished today is added to the next day, and by the end of the week the list is huge! People need to keep the two lists separate.

Most people call themselves 'lazy' when they do something else instead of the items on their list. They're not lazy - they're productive when they want to be. Maybe their task is so huge that they feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start so they either 1) stare into space like a zombie, or 2) do something easier, or 3) avoid it altogether. At the end of the day, when they don't accomplish all the items on their list, they call themselves a mean name. I think they need to be nice to themselves.

If a task is too huge, perhaps it can be broken down into smaller tasks - ones that aren't hard and are actually fun to accomplish. (An elephant isn't eaten in one piece, but one bite at a time.) People need to remember that the big task will be completed when all of the smaller tasks get done. People need to be patient while their goal gets accomplished. And they need to realize that goals don't have to be hard - they can actually be fun!

Here's a personal example: 
GOAL: Do all I can to be healthy. (I want to do this because I'm tired all the time, I have low energy, and I want to take my health into my own hands.) 
TASK (1) Eat healthy
SMALLER TASK(S): (a) Try the Swank Diet. For a year (possibly forever, but at least for a year) don't eat red meat, pork, or dark meat poultry (do eat only white meat poultry, all types of fish, and all types of shellfish.) I know it will take a while for me to remember this - I won't quit or go back to my old ways when I forget, instead I will keep trying. 
(b) Don't eat junk food. I won't eat fast foods, processed foods, fatty foods, or fried foods. (I will eat vegetables, good desserts, fruits, meat that is good for me, fats that are good for me, and carbs that are good for me.) Of course, anything in excess is bad so I'll have limitations that make sense and not be excessive. Again, it will take me a while to remember this. I won't quit when it feels hard, instead I'll remember my goal and keep trying. I will stop eating fast food and instead eat foods that are yummy and good for me. When I eat out, I will only eat things that make me feel good afterward. I won't over eat, or eat heavy things that make me feel like crap because I want to eat healthy. 
TASK (2) Exercise. I can't do things that make me hot because I feel like crying, so I need to find something that I CAN do. 
SMALLER TASK(S): (a) Find an exercise that I can do without getting hot (besides swimming - so I don't have to do my hair or wear a swimsuit!) 
(b) Implement the found exercise into my activities. (I haven't found the exercise yet, but once I do I want to add it to my life.) 
TASK (3) Use vitamins or drugs. I used to take the drug Copaxone for almost two years but feel it stopped working for me so I stopped taking it (and I'm glad because those shots really hurt!) I used to take the drug Lamotrigine (to stop the moments - which it did!) but it made me tired so I weened off of it and the moments never came back!
SMALLER TASK(S): (a) Use things that make me feel good. (All drugs have side-affects so I will look at natural things first, but if drugs do the best job then I'll use drugs.)
TASK (4) Accept my illness. Saying that I accept my illness is a hard thing to tell people because it seems like I'm giving up and not looking for other possibilities; acceptance is so definite. In years past, I've looked at other possibilities and each time it has led to me feel great disappointment. I'm open to considering other possibilities but the simple truth is that if the possibility isn't the truth I don't want to feel disappointed and get my hopes up. My disease could be something else but I choose to believe I have MS and to focus on how to live with it.
SMALLER TASK(S): (a) Say what I CAN do not what I CAN'T. I won't compare what I do now to what I did then because it's not fair to me, nor helpful to compare myself to the past. I will be happy about ALL my accomplishments no matter how small.
(b) Have good self-esteem. I won't think I'm less than anyone else because I have a handicap. I'll see the good instead of the bad in my situation. I'll listen to people, read books & magazines, and watch things on TV that lift me up not drag me down. I won't be a part of things that make me feel bad about myself.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Learning Something

I don't have a degree, but I've read many books written by people who do. They have deeply contemplated and researched the things they've written and their words have enriched my life. I have sought to learn from the best books and have found much information. Not all books are good and I rely on my heart to tell me to keep reading or not. If I feel good, I keep reading whereas if I feel bad, I put the book down. Sometimes I pick up a book and feel an impression tell me 'that book is not for you' so I put it down. Maybe the impressions sound hokey, but I listen and know they benefit me in some way.

There are many things to learn. I read what interests me and what will benefit my life in some way. Sometimes I want to relax and not think so I read a novel that allows me to escape into the author's world. Sometimes I want to learn so I read something that teaches me. Sometimes I want to be inspired so I read something uplifting. Whether I read a book, a magazine, or the TV guide, the information enters my mind and I must decide to keep or ignore what I've read.

(A great chapter is in the book: Teachings of Presidents of The Church Brigham Young. It's chapter 27 called Learning by study and by faith. Click here to go to this book.)