The Simple Things In Life

[Rowena]

So my other thread I just created, Balance, reminded me of something I wanted to say. (There have been a lot of threads that fall under this category too that made me want to post this as well.) Anyway, I will make it known that I am a Mormon right now, because I will be referencing a talk one of my church leaders gave in a recent church conference. I think that his talk applies to all of us, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Catholic, Protestant, and so on and so forth. Even those who have no religion could benefit.

But anyway, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselour in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, gave a talk/sermon, whatever you want to call it on making time for the the things that matter most. It really hit me hard as I relistened to it yesterday afternoon. He said, and I agree, that so much in our lives causes us to lose sight of what really matters. We are so in a rush and hurried to get things done that we tend to forget to spend time with our families, do our spiritual studies (if you happened to do that sort of thing), and just plain think.

An amazing thing he said was just this, (he is/was an airplane pilot so many of his analogies relate to airplanes) "Have you ever been in an airplane and experienced turbulence? The most common cause of turbulence is a sudden change in air movement causing the aircraft to pitch, yaw, and roll. While planes are built to withstand far greater turbulence than anything you would encounter on a regular flight, it still may be disconcerting to passengers.

What do you suppose pilots do when they encounter turbulence? A student pilot may think that increasing speed is a good strategy because it will get them through turbulence faster. But that may be the wrong thing to do. Professional pilots understand that there is an optimum turbulence penetration speed that will minimize the negative effects of turbulence. And most of the time that would mean to reduce your speed. The same principle applies also to speed bumps on a road.

Therefore, it is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions."

How true is it that life seems to go better when we slow down a little and take time to focus on the things that really matter most. Yesterday, it just felt good to slow down and take time to make dinner and read from the Old Testament in the bible with my husband. We then watched a movie and played games together, and I think it was a very wonderful day. I think in the rushed pace of our lives we do tend to forget what is important sometimes, if not quite frequently. Especially now as we enter the holiday season, I beg us all to remember to slow down and remember a) what the holiday season truly is about to focus on our families, our health, our spirits, etc...

Like Sahm-I-Am said in my balance thread, essentially, as Celiacs/gluten-intolerants and whatever else we may be, planning is key to our meals. I think it goes beyond that too.

Anyway, just thought I would share that...

[wheeleezdryver]

I love this... for more reasons than one ...Pres. Utchdorf is an amazing man:)...

I have had to slow down quite a bit in my life over the last five years, due to my DH's as well as my own health issues. Slowing down has been a godsend for me. There is no way I could go as fast at everything i used to. Now i get to take time to care for myself, as well as care for my Dh as best as I can, and spend as much time as we can together, and i'm thankful for that .