I am made up of so many people
My experiences are such
That when I look into the mirror
There’s no face I cannot touch
I see the people wondering
What I have become
There has to be an answer there
But searching, I find none
(Written April 6, 1996)
briskly and swift travels the aging man
ascending the mount to see God’s beacon shine
focused on words that illuminate his soul
grateful for the quickening of mercies divine
Tonight I ran for the second time this week and the second time in perhaps 6 months or more. After the St. George in 2005 I haven’t trained much. I did run the Wasatch Back Relay, but I pretty much ran that straight up without forethought…and my legs sure thanked me for it!
Today I had been having a brain cloud, as I’ve come to recognize as a fairly common part of Ryan’s existence. I almost didn’t run today because I’ve been feeling “almost sick” lately. Ya know that feeling of fatigue, muscle soreness, hot/cold “make up your mind” stuff? Well, I’ve been having that but guess what? Here’s what I experienced upon returning from a 15 minute run, 5 minute walk, then repeat session:
I enjoy noticing the effects of my actions more these days. I haven’t always done that and it’s quite interesting and refreshing.
Storms & struggles
Sadness & strife
These are but gifts
Blessings of life
We ride the cycles of happiness and sorrow. With every rotation we learn more of what it is to be human, to have strains, to have challenges, to have difficulties. To recognize that these down times are but part of the whole allows us to let hope into our hearts and understand, as my grandmother used to say, “this too shall pass.”
At times we run faster than we’re able. We fill our lives, and rightly so, with good activities. But there comes a point when the busyness of life robs from us the precious gift of reflection. In quiet moments we can look back on our behavior, let the solemnity of special moments sink in and we can assess our thinking on important topics. Simplifying our lives can provide us with many such opportunities. In these sacred times we can come to accept & love ourselves as well as see life more clearly.
Shelter, food, clothes and heat. These are the few basic things that Henry David Thoreau determined were necessaries for man while he lived a simplified life on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Walden Pond. I am thankful for my meager apartment and cramped room. I am grateful that I have clothes to wear, including my cowboy boots. I am pleased that my house is warm when the weather outside has other plans. I am grateful for my 5 pound bag of pretzels and chocolate milk that sustain somehow my life.
Breaking from philosophy and entering practicality: In considering a shelter Dave Ramsey counsels to spend no more than 25% of your monthly take home pay on your monthly home payments. Also, providing at least 20% in down payment on a 15 year loan will allow you the most flexibility if you need to immediately sale the home.
Thrift, industry, economy and frugality are traits that I seek. At present time I think I’m running about 50/50 on most of them. Hopefully my kids someday will be able to learn these from their bearded father.
Finally, I’m grateful for my agency. I needn’t choose simplicity because that’s what I was advised to do. Rather, I choose simplicity because I can conceive of its benefits in a busy and rushed world.
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Thoughts taken from Let Him Do It with Simplicity, a talk by Elder L. Tom Perry in the October 2008 LDS General Conference.
In all my days I’ve sought my best
And on that journey you bettered me
When I walked off course and to the left
You straightened my path with love
When you laughed, I couldn’t help but smile
And that compassion made my burdens light
At times to listen is all one needs
You did so and I felt understood
I wasn’t always true to you
But as time passes I learn devotion
In all ways and in deep sincerity
I hope one day to embrace you again
Thank you for your loving support
It’s just that simple to heal a soul
There was once a little grasshopper who liked to rest in the path where humans walk. Sure there were other places to contemplate life and bask in the warmth of the sun, but he liked this place best.
Occasionally a human would walk by and with the quickness the grasshopper had come to pride himself on, he would hop out of the danger’s way. However, once the trouble was gone he would always return to the path where the humans walk.
After this the little grasshopper’s first encounter with a human he considered briefly finding a safer place to rest from the troubles of the day. But just as speedily as that thought had come, he also had another, and then another. They went something like this:
“The danger is gone now. You needn’t worry. You can now return to your favorite spot on the path where humans walk. Besides, it was quite some time before you ever saw even one human and when you did, you were quick to remove yourself from danger. If danger comes again, I am able. No harm will come to me.”
So return he did to his favorite spot where humans walk and continued to bask in the sun’s warmth.
After a few times of being called to alarm by the presence of a human walking by and one close call, the grasshopper had enjoyed some time without any cause for worry. Smiling at this newly experienced peace from danger’s threat, the little insect grew very accustomed to life on the path where humans once walked.
Time passed and the grasshopper forgot what it was like to move for danger. He grew tired one sunny morning and without warning, as is often the case when one is careful to not make a sound, a lone human strolled down the path where the grasshopper lay slumbering.
Without attention to the tiny life on the path the human walked where it was taught to walk and without even noticing, stepped on the little grasshopper and on its way it went.
Now friends, the life of the tiny grasshopper may be gone, but yours is not. What paths that now seem safe to you will one day bring danger? Where do you now slumber and what strengths do you use to justify that that sleep? Be careful to give attention to the tale of the confident grasshopper.