Forgiving: a necessary attribute

This past week after hearing me complain a bit about my week one of my best friends suggested a book for my reading enjoyment, THE PEACEGIVER. As I started to dive into this book I thought it was thought provoking but a little strange, but my friends favorite quote from it, and the way she lives her life, has now given me a new way to think. I was always impressed with her ability to seem to forgive those who had done wrong to her. I am not normally one that will hold a grudge, but she really exemplifies the attribute of forgiveness.

"Being mistreated is the most important condition of mortality, for eternity itself depends on how we view those who mistreat us."

What a profound, and yet so simple and truthful statement of life. Our Savior suffered and died for us so that we might be forgiven, and refusing to forgive those who have wronged us is almost like denying the ability and power of that atonement.

We all get hurt in life, and at some point or another are mistreated, and often it is by those that we have trusted. Although this can be a painful thing to realize that you were wronged, eternity is more worth it then these brief moments of pain that we have to endure in this life.

This seems like the perfect season to realize the importance of forgiveness. This is the season where we celebrate the birth and life of our Savior. Out of all of the Christ like attributes to exemplify, this is one I plan on continuing to work on...after all eternity depends on how we view those who mistreat us.

The Advantage of the unknown!

"It's not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It's because we dare not venture that they are difficult"

-Seneca

It seems that many of my most recent conversations have been on the topic of Risks, and what it means to take risks and the importance of that. I feel as though a large majority of people are so content staying where they feel comfortable, and choosing the comfortable path that they lose the opportunity to chose paths open to them that may bring them greater joy and greater possibilities.

In talking to a friend I understood risk taking in a way that I had not thought of before. You can't just assume that you are drowning when you are only in 3 feet of water, stand up a little taller and make it out into the deep end so you can learn how to swim.

Paulo Coelho once said "You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen."

I guess I just wish that people would realize the advantages of taking risks...of creating a new path...a different one so that you have more opportunities accessible to you. Exploring is growth, and without challenging ourselves and taking the time to explore, we won't be able to grow to our full potential. Life is a lot about trial and error, but if even one time taking a risk proves great results....isn't it worth it?

Tis the season to be Thankful

Cliche maybe...but what is the season if I don't express my gratitude for the things in my life that I am so blessed to have?!

I realized over break that I have so much to be thankful for. My life is rich in blessings...sometimes even things that I don't initially view as a blessing ends up being one. Even hard times, stresses, and frustrations play out to be a blessing as they allow me and my life to grow.

One thing that I have come to be grateful and excited for is new opportunities..sometimes taking risks pays off. Working on getting out of my comfort zone has been a blessing allowing new and exciting things to come in to my life.

What would the season be without being thankful for my family, my friends, my savior, my education, and all the other wonderful things that I enjoy in my life.

Tis the season to be jolly/Tis the season to be thankful!

A Love Happy Society

Today I was thinking about how many times a day we say "I love you" or any form of those three words. There are obvious people in my life whom I love: friends, siblings, parents, nieces & nephews ect. But how often do we say these words and not understand that to love is a verb....something that requires effort and action.

I am not a downer, or unbeliever in the power of the word love, but I just wonder if when we use it we actually know what we are agreeing to. In church this past week we discussed how to love somebody is to see their eternal potential and help them achieve it. Are we really all striving to do this for every person that we utter these words to? Don't get me wrong, I want to be able to tell as many people possible that I love them, but I also want to be able to show it in my actions. I was taught once that words without action behind them have as good of a chance standing strong as a sandcastle in high tide. I mean lets be honest, who wants to see their hours of intense labor wash away.

Saying I love you is in a sense making a promise. Under promise over deliver is a motto that i've heard repeated many times. Why not just promise and deliver? Use the words love on a daily basis as often as possible....but back up those vulnerable words with action. I believe that keeping in mind that we have to love ourselves before we love others can help us understand that we truly have to act upon the verb love.

This is a small example of some of the people that I love, and I hope that my actions to them speak louder then anytime I verbally tell them how I feel.

Future possibilites disguised as a downward spiral...

Recently a good friend of mine opened up my eyes to blogging through sharing his newly found passion with me...not only did i become totally obsessed, seeing if he had posted anything new, but I realized that maybe blogging was something that would be good for me too. Heck, maybe it just isn't something for old married people. After getting my roommates support, I knew it was time to delve into the blogging world...never thought I'd be one of these kids...welp here I am!

I always said that some day I would write a book...i already have a title and my chapters laid out...maybe this will be a good way for me to get used to having others read my ideas. I really want my first chapter to be entitled: "sometimes when there is a fork in the road, you have to take a knife and go down the middle." To be honest I feel as though life has been a lot like this lately. There are possibilities and open roads, but sometimes I am disappointed in myself and in others when the tough, not as clear path is totally disregarded. We might play around with the idea of taking this path for a couple of days...and then end up right back in our Comfort zones. I believe that the road that you have to work for will be the one that brings the greatest reward. Taking risks is what it is cracked up to be. With the right amount of knowledge, right amount of faith, and the actual guts to do something out of your ordinary, tremendous results will ensue.

For me, my new goal is to get out of the comfort zone and explore new heights (blogging for instance). Try things that aren't always as easy...try things even when you don't know how others will respond. The satisfaction from trying will be greater then the disappointment from failing.