Managing Stess

My journal prompt today asked how I manage stress. Here's what I wrote: How do I plan to manage stress this year? I don’t really experience stress. Not like others describe. Even when I was working and had lots to do, I somehow didn’t feel much stress. Perhaps it comes of trusting that God is in charge. Maybe there’s an element of living in the moment involved too. My childhood was filled with stress, but somewhere along the line, can’t say precisely when, I learned that stress, like worry, is a useless endeavor. I try to live by the Spirit. I try to be prepared. Much of what I do in my daily routine happens in that vein and so I find myself relaxed, confident, at peace and joyful almost all the time. It just occurred to me that one pivotal moment came with my reading of Being Enough by Cheiko Okazaki. One of her mantras, was In Principle, Great Clarity; In Practice Great Charity. I was thrilled by her teachings in that book and read it over a few times. Since then, I have had Charity toward others and more particularly toward myself. My best IS good enough. Brigham Young said it, Gordon B. Hinckley said it. Sister Okazaki said it, and I have come to believe it! One key component of that for me, is the realization that my best is not some Platonic ideal that I can conjure in my imagination. My best includes my limitations, health, understanding, circumstances, and competing demands. God, understands all of this. So many times, when my efforts seem short of my hopes, the Spirit whispers, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Then I realize that God is doing the heavy lifting, and while I’m hoping to help with that, I’m also called to learn, discover, make mistakes, and most especially, discover that He, not me, is God. Just today I listened to a Radio program about a Government Agency. The interviewee had been involved with the Agency since it’s inception in the late fifties. In those days he said, “The agency was run by WWII Vets whose leadership philosophy was Command and Control. These days, their activities are so much more collaborative. It made me hark back to those childhood days, when school, home and church were all very much Command and Control. Quite, naturally, I came to see God as Command and Control as well. It took me a long time to view Jesus Christ as my yoke-mate and not my task master. My peace and progress are very much a product of our collaborative effort, not His demands and my compliance. Having Jesus as my yoke-mate relieves me of stress. I could shrug off the yoke at any time, but why would I. “His yoke is easy, and his burden is light.”

Serving in Jesus' Name

Champions of other Faiths

 

This is a note President Ballard tweeted on X.  I was struck by his admonition to be Champions of other Faiths.  This has been something dear to my heart for years!

When I was in the Philippines Elder Daniel Johnson and went, by invitation, to the Negros Oriental Provincial Governor’s home for his birthday party.  The home was large and tables were set on the first and second floors and also on a shaded open air veranda.  As the Savior admonished, we sat at a lower table, but then were invited not only upstairs, but out onto the balcony with the Governor himself.  Gathered there were a few prominent Mayors from the Province as well as three Irish Jesuit Priests.  The Governor had been to Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center and had seen the Temple there.  He seemed eager to impress us and told of his experience there with reverence and great detail.  Everyone seemed quite impressed with the Governor’s account.  We didn’t ever get the chance to say much.  But at a moment of quiet one of the Priests leaned over to us and asked if we would be willing to join their team to play a game of Soccer against the Silliman University (Presbyterian) Soccer team.  We said we would.  Elder Johnson had played some, but I was pretty much a rookie.  They put me at the position of goalie, which was perfect, because these Irish fellows played so well that there never was an assault on the goal I was to protect.  This was my first close encounter with folks of another religion, in which differences were closely juxtaposed.  We found it to be delightful.

Later, in my Mission Elder Lyle Drake and I were touring the Mountain Province, when we found ourselves stranded in Sagada.  It was during a festival and no rooms in the inns were available.  Someone mentioned that the Nuns at the Episcopal Church and School, might be able to accommodate us.  We were received warmly and since it was a boarding school and school was not in session we had our pick of rooms in the Dormitory.  The Sisters fed us dinner and offered to guide us around the festival, but first they need to finish pressing the host for Sunday’s communion.  We volunteered to help and they put is right to work making the Sacramental wafers.  This too was a great delight!  After spending the night and needing to leave before dawn to catch the bus, we not wanting to disturb the Sisters, made our way to the bus depot.  We boarded the bus and were waiting for departure when the Nuns appeared with warm homemade bread with butter and honey for our breakfast.  They truly served us in a Christlike manner.  We had given them a copy of The Book of Mormon during dinner the previous evening, which they accepted most graciously.

Toward the end of my Mission, Elder Joe Hapi and I were busy making preparations for a fund raising basketball game between a Pro Team, UTEX and some of our better Missionaries.  Suddenly, we got word that the Philippine Basketball Association had denied a request to play such an exhibition game.  Further inquiry revealed that the head of the PBA was a Catholic Priest located in Quiaopo.  We went down there with some trepidation, found his office and discovered he was out.  We were, however, invited to wait however long it took for the Father to return.  We waited all day!  When he did come he arrived with his collar undone and a big cigar between two fingers.  He asked the receptionist, in a thick Irish brogue, who we were and after a brief introduction, he invited us into his office.  He reminded me of Spencer Tracy in Boy’s Town.  After explaining our predicament he puffed on his cigar, leaned back in his chair and announced that there would be no problem allowing UTEX to play the game.  As we departed he shouted, “Go with God me boys!  And tell ‘em a Jesuit sent ya!!”

There have been more adversarial moments as well.  Like the time Reverend Herbert W. Armstrong, of the Radio Church of the Air, picked me up in Heber while I was hitchhiking home from Provo to Vernal.  We began discussing the gospel and he quickly became argumentative.  I tried to be respectful and to answer his questions to the best of my ability.  He was very confrontational and would always find some fault related to any answer I provided.  I remember he made a big complaint that we haven’t built Temples all around the world to accommodate people elsewhere.  I pointed out New Zealand, England and Switzerland, but he was bitterly unsatisfied.  I wish I could show him now what has been accomplished in that regard.  Eventually, I grew wear of his assaults on my beliefs and quit responding to his affronts.  He kicked me out in Roosevelt, knowing full well I wanted to go to Vernal.  I surreptitiously left a copy of The Book of Mormon under the front seat of his car.

One day I was out working with the Full Time Elders here in Vernal.  We began knocking on doors over on about 1250 W in Vernal 6th Ward.  I was in 9th Ward at the time.  We knocked on a door and a sweet young Hispanic lady of about 30 came to the door.  We approached her about the Gospel and she told us she’d grown up around Latter-day Saints her whole life, having been raised in Tooele, and wanted nothing to do with us.  Even when we invited her to a neighborhood party she balked.  I asked her if she had found a home in the local St. James Parrish of the Catholic Church and she lamented that she didn’t feel welcome there, hinting that there were no other Hispanics in the Parish.  I felt bad for her.  We moved on.  Later, over in 2nd Ward on about 3rd South and 2nd West we encountered my friend Sue Beers (now Sue Wallace).  She being Catholic and also having been raised here in Vernal among Latter-day Saints was also resistant to hearing our message.  It was then that I took over the conversation.  I asked Sue if she was familiar with the term Visiting Teacher.  She was.  Then I said, “I have a Visiting Teaching assignment for you!”  She protested saying that she was a Catholic and couldn’t be a Visiting Teacher.  I explained that it was a Catholic that I’d like her to visit.  I explained about the Hispanic lady and about how she felt about attending St. James.  Sue accepted the call, took the information about her and promised to be her Visiting Teacher.  About six months later Leonard and Nell Heeney invited me to the Catholic Spaghetti dinner.  Delighted with the invitation I took the kids on a Sunday after Church and went.  We were welcomed with open arms.  As we passed through the line to get our food, we encountered both Sue and the Hispanic lady standing side by side serving spaghetti.  I wish I remembered the lady’s name, she smiled and thanked me for sending her a Visiting Teacher.  She was now happily involved in her Catholic community.  I was delighted!  As I ate, I remembered how the Elder’s jaws dropped when I made that assignment to Sue.  We were out to bless the lives of others and bless we did!

When I went to work for Wayne Merrill at Sundance RV I was introduced to my fellow salesman, Jim Still.  Jim was Pastor at the Landmark Missionary Baptist Church.  We had waltzed uncomfortably around one another for a week or so, when Jim approached me with a proposition.  He told me that he was aware of our differences and that if I was willing, we might consider the similarities in our belief systems, which would likely lead to more harmony and less awkward and contentious moments.  I agreed.  From then on we had the most wonderful conversations and discovered that our differences were far fewer than either of us had ever imagined!  For instance, on day Jim asked if I had been Born Again?  When I replied in the affirmative, he about fell off his chair!  “You’re the first Latter-day Saint I’ve ever met who said yes to that question!”  Further discussion helped us both to understand better.  We eventually agreed that being Born Again and being a Saint means essentially the same thing in the scriptures.  Thus we discovered that culturally, his church members were very uncomfortable being called Saints and that likewise, members of our Church are equally uncomfortable with calling themselves Born Again.  It was a matter of familiarity with the semantics.  This was amusing to both of us because he could find examples in the New Testament like Philippians 4:21 that indicate members of the Church are Saints and I found reference after reference in The Book of Mormon admonishing us to be Born Again. (See Mosiah 27:25).  I have since attended Landmark Baptist Church a couple of times and found both meetings informative, inspiring and beneficial.

When my Granddaughter Megan was baptized into the Vernal Christian Church, I attended in support of her decision.  After the meeting I gave her a big hug and she introduced me to Pastor Schaun Colin.  Pastor Shaun is from South Africa.  Pastor Schaun took my hand in both of his, looked me in the eye and with all sincerity, said, “I think I know what it has cost you to be here today.  Thank you for coming to support Megan.”  I thanked him for his kindness and complimented him on his sermon and the welcome we had enjoyed from everyone in the congregation.  It was a very pleasant experience for me.

When I served at the Detention Center and previously at the County Jail, I of course was representing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but often the inmates were from from other religions.  I made a concerted effort to connect them with the Clergy of their own Church.  This was met with mixed results, but generally was a heart warming experience as I knocked on the door or otherwise made contact with Ministers, Pastors and Priests of the various local denominations.  Most of the time they were appreciative, friendly and responded quickly to the needs of the incarcerated members of their flock.  I think one of my favorite moments from the Detention Center came when a Native American youth seemed resistant to suggestions I was making about setting goals for his future.  His mind was inside the religion box I’d been presenting and he didn’t like it in there.  Once he’d expressed his problem to me, I suggested an alternative that he had never considered.  I suggested that upon his release that he might check with his Tribal Elders about the possibility of participating in the Sundance.  I told him of friends of mine who had done that ordeal and had grown in powerful ways from the experience.  A couple of years later the boy spied me in Walmart and ran over to report that he had done the Sundance just a few days prior and that it indeed had changed his life and set the tone for his future.  He said it was the hardest thing he’d ever done, but that now he knew who he was and where he wanted to go with his life!

When I came down with Rheumatoid Arthritis my doctor became Dr. Shakaib Qureshi.  My first meeting with him was wonderful.  I asked him if he was Muslim, which he was.  So I asked him if he had a place to worship near his home in Roosevelt.  He told me that during his very first week in Roosevelt the Bishop of the Ward he lives in came to his door and offered a room in the LDS Chapel for a place to worship if he needed it!  He told me he had declined because it was just he and his wife and they could do that just fine at home.  But was so moved by the offer that he began right away to feel at home here!  Next, I asked if he’d been on the Haj.  Suspicious, he asked why I wanted to know.  I told him that while in the Philippines I met a man who was going on the Haj.  He’d booked passage on a freighter to fulfill his life long dream of a pilgrimage to Mecca during his life.  I told Dr. Qureshi that upon his return, that man was simply radiant with joy and peace, despite a long arduous journey.  Sensing my sincerity, Dr. Qureshi told that yes, he had gone on the Haj, though he’d booked a luxury trip for $30,000.  He was a bit embarrassed by the comparison of his sacrifice when compared to my Filipino friend.  Nevertheless, he went on to tell me that the experience changed his life.  Previously, he’d been head of a large Rheumatology Department in a major hospital, with lots of money and two months of vacation every year.  He told me that upon his return from the Haj, he felt a strong desire to have a more meaningful life.  So he quit his job, found an underserved community in America (the Uintah Basin) and began practicing here one month followed by two months doing pro-bono work in Pakistan, in rotation.  He says that though he’s not making nearly as much money and has no time off to speak of, that he’s happier and more fulfilled than he’s ever been!  How blessed my life has been because of his treatments, his kindness, his expertise and his willingness to serve in a place like this!  His Haj has truly blessed my life!

There are more stories and perhaps I’ll include them some day, but suffice it to say, that I have enjoyed deep and lasting friendships and had wonderful experiences and have learned and grown from encounters with those of other faiths.  I find Elder Ballard’s admonition to Champion them both wonderful, satisfying and appreciated!

Intellectual and Moral Integrity

 We live in a day of conflict, of choosing up sides, of dehumanizing people other than our kind.  These are circumstances that deeply trouble me.  We commonly have our biases and seem so very comfortable sitting snugly and smugly in our various comfort zones.

Years ago, while watching a TV program called Finding Your Roots, with Henry Louis Gates Jr. I had a major paradigm shift.  He was working with the renown lawyer Alan Dershowitz.  My political views at the time, so differed from those Dershowitz espoused that I almost turned it off.  Thankfully, I didn’t.  As, Dr. Gates examined Alan’s family history and helped him understand his roots, I came to a new understanding as well.  As I remember the episode, Alan told a story of coming home excitedly proclaiming that the Yankees won the Pennant!  To which his Grandmother replied, “Vat does dat mean for da Jews?”  Having just heard of their oppression in Eastern Europe and their difficult journey to America, I suddenly had an epiphany.  I realized in no uncertain terms that had I been raised in the family and environment Dershowitz had, I’d most certainly, be in a much more similar frame of mind to his.’’Suddenly, I realized that my own upbringing had a profound effect on my own thinking, opinions and in particular my bias, or the frame of mind with which I view the world.  I knew that day that I had to begin the process of examining those views with the hope of at least seeing both sides of an issue, but also with the view of discovering and adopting the truth!

Another great influence at that particular time came in the form of the biography of Sir Isaac Newton called Never at Rest by Richard S. Westfall.  In it the author explains that Newton wrote more on religion than he ever did on Mathematics and Physics.  Newton was indeed a scientist first, but as his interests turned toward religion he found that much seemed amiss having been confused by wild imaginings and indeed, bias, or personal opinion.  As Newton approached his examination of biblical prophecy, particularly in Daniel and the Book of Revelations he realized that in order to avoid the same pitfalls he found in other writers on the subject that he must establish and apply 15 rules to his study and conclusions, to be certain that his own training didn’t interfere with the discovery of the truth.  To give you a glimpse into Newton’s conclusions, he declared that there had been a general apostasy and that a restoration would happen some two centuries after his time.  He believed that the restoration would come with the sounding of a trump.  He whole heartedly rejected the Trinity Doctrine, believing that the Father and the Son were, indeed resurrected and corporeal beings with bodies of flesh and bone.  He believed that the authentic Priesthood of God was no longer upon the earth.  These views held such sway with him, that when he was offered a professorship at Cambridge, he declined because with the position, came the requirement of ordination to the priesthood of the Church of England.  Such an ordination he felt to be an affront to God and he would not do it.  A group of friends eventually persuaded the King to create the Lucasian Chair at Cambridge with the stipulation that it might be filled with one who was not ordained.  Newton accepted that chair.

I tell you this because it struck me as vital, that I too, establish some rules for the examination of the world’s barrage of information.  I did not then, nor do I now, want to be influenced by my own bias, or anyone else’s.

My list of rules has evolved over the years.  Here it is as it now stands:

1. Simplicity (I drew this one from Newton’s list. Repeatedly, “God delights in plainness. The more complicated things become, the more I need to boil them down to simple basic principles.
2. Open Mindedness (I need to be willing to look at an issue, circumstance or organization from all sides.)
3. Glean  (Most approaches, opinions, platforms and dogmas have both correct and incorrect ideas, I don’t have to swallow the fish bones as well as the meat, neither do I have to throw the baby out with the bath water.}
4. Prove (Get the actual facts.  This is getting ever more difficult to do, but there is another factor to prove that is significant here. In Malachi we are invited to “prove Me now herewith..” In other words, make application of the principle and “see if I will not open the windows of Heaven…”. In other words test it.  This can be done by application and also often as a simple, intentional thought experiment - pondering)
5. Source (This is another I obtained from Newton.  Rather than rely on the analysis of others, he went directly to the scripture for his examination of prophecy.  Too often I have fallen victim to the ease of just taking someone’s word for what happened, or for someone’s position, or deed.  It will not do to seek the opinions only of the detractors.  There must be merit to the views of those who affiliate as well as those who reject.”
6.  Solid Ground (Stand on the solid ground you have already gained.  If you have thoroughly examined this or that and followed all the rules, then I say you’ve obtained some solid ground.  There is no need to fuss over that any further.  Now it is a matter of fitting that which is not so sure to that which is!  And if you’ve done it right it will attach naturally, harmoniously to your anchoring  place.
7. God is the Source of all Truth  (Whether you accept this or not the rule applies.  I already know this from experience.  It is really quite simple.  Either God exists or He doesn’t.  It is the most fundamental thing, to approach God and ask.  My experience has been undeniable, over and over.  He has and continues to confirm truth to me.  It is not usually a question of handing me the truth as it is a question of confirming truth I have settled on and asked Him to confirm.  Many times He has not confirmed something I had eagerly accepted.  There is a subservient rule that applies to this one.  The thing, organization, person or principle that I feel to strongly embrace, must be in compliance with truth already established.  In other words, it must conform to that which God has already revealed.  Sort of goes back to rule 6.)
8. Rule of Thumb. (Deception in any form casts doubt on the source.  Let me give you a few examples.  I saw a recent political add that shows footage of a candidate saying something quite heinous.  Further, examination, though, proved that the ad makers had edited the video such that it completely misrepresented what was actually said.  Why would I ever trust that source again?  Recently, someone claimed to my wife that The Book of Mormon was plagiarized from another book written at the time.  My wife read the ostensibly sourced book and found that in no way did the books have more than one similarity and that the differences in the similarity were profound.  There is no way that an accusation of plagiarism would hold up in court.  Hence, another source that cannot be trusted.)

• Quit Choosing Sides (We, especially in America, have fallen prey to an us versus them mentality.  If we don’t like something the Democrats stand for, we tend to hate Democrats and everything the stand for.  Of course the same sentiment tends to apply in the opposite direction.  I cannot understand the mentality that our side is right and their’s is wrong!  Certainly, there are good as well as elements to each side, the Prophet has repeatedly said so.  So, the notion that because this candidate represents our side, so he, despite his faults is right and the other despite his qualities is wrong, is utterly ridiculous!  I know so many people on either side of the aisle who adamantly despise the other, for no other reason than that’s where their fathers stood and their fathers before them.  This polarized view of the future of our Republic, to me is way more dangerous than many of the policies and platform of either side.  This same feeling applies in other arenas as well.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is actively addressing this issue by attempting and often succeeding in building bridges where chasms have been.  A couple in my own Stake have a Church calling to attend, serve and worship with other congregations in our community who are not of our faith.  A Bishop in a nearby town offered space in the Chapel in which his Ward meets to a Muslim friend of mine so he could have space in which to worship Allah.  We will all be happier if we start building bridges instead of entrenching ourselves in our ever more isolated bunkers!)

Well, the question remains, do we have intellectual and moral integrity?  I think Isaac Newton did.  I’m not asking you use or accept my rules, but I am suggesting that we establish some.  Rules that will require of us a good hard look at what we believe, accept, embrace and encourage.  It stands to reason, that we cannot all be right at once.  It also stands to reason that we won’t any of us recover from our biases and prejudices in one quantum leap.  These things take time and effort.  I just hope we will start now to embark further on that path.

Some Thoughts on Jacob Chapter Five

 Every time I read the fifth Chapter of Jacob in the Book of Mormon, I can’t help but wonder about all the stories of grafting and where they took place.  It seems quite clear that the graft that took place in finest part of the vineyard was that of the Nephites and the Lamanites and that the branch that died was the Nephites, but what about the branch that was planted in the poorest part of the Vineyard?  Might that have been Tibet?  Or Siberia?  How I long to hear those stories, though I doubt if they’ll be entirely different than the ones we know.  All of the “promised land” stores have tales of hardship, deprivation, as well as faith and triumph.  I don’t expect the others to be any different.

Clearly the allegory is the tale of the House of Israel and of it’s scattering across the globe or Vineyard.  The main tree remained in Palestine, but so many others were grafted on to the tree.  I think this chapter uses planting and grafting interchangeably it is possible to start a new olive tree from cuttings from an old one, so I’d like the thoughts of others on my surmise.  If I am correct though, and all of the “planting” was actually a graft, it would most certainly mean that the America’s were already populated when Lehi and his family were grafted on to an existing tree, or population.  The apparent population explosion recorded in the Book of Mormon seems to bear this out.  Though it seems that the new comers, must have immediately and strongly influenced, even dominated, the existing population.

I find it very interesting that China for example has had a very strong Christian presence, most certainly as early as the third Century.  In fact one source says that at the time of Marco Polo, there were more Christians in China, than in any other region of the globe, including Europe.  I think it quite likely that there were earlier dispersions of Israel that arrived and thrived in the Far East as early as, if not earlier than the people of Lehi arrived in America.  Like America, those people could have continued bearing good fruit on into the “Christian Era.”  As prophesied, their records, will one day be available to us.  What an exciting day that will be!

On a side note, about ten years ago, I met a young Sister Missionary on Temple Square from the People’s Republic of China.  Their name tags bear the flag of their country of origin.  I asked her how long she’d been affiliated with the Church?  Her reply astounded me!  She’d been part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints her entire life.  She went on to report that there are 30,000 Latter-day Saints in China! That the Government likes the Church because, “we obey the rules.”  She bore testimony of the 12th Article of Faith and of the Prophet Joseph Smith, as reasons why the Chinese Government and the Church have an amicable relationship.  Some of this number were converted abroad and returned home to China, but many have learned of the gospel from friends and neighbors.  She counted it a miracle that Hong Kong came under Chinese rule, because they can make day trips to the Temple without special permission. She also told me that they’d probably have even more freedom to worship if the Jehovah’s Witnesses would stop breaking the rules.

I found myself thinking that it seems quite certain that the portion of the allegory that tells of returning the branches to the mother tree, represents the Latter-day gathering.  What a joy it is to be part of that!  When I see what The Book of Mormon represents to many Indigenous People across the Americas, I can’t help but anticipate the joy of natives of China, Japan, the Philippines, Africa and everywhere else across the globe receive records of their own ancestor’s interactions with God and his Prophets!

This time through Chapter 5 gave me another perspective.  I found myself thinking of who I really am, the me who once lived in the presence of God.  At birth, I lost track of that and as mortality wore on, I began to bear wild fruit and also had need of pruning and grafting.  Naturally, being an enemy of God, I also required dunging and digging about.  I can see in this allegory many times when I went wild, or got too lofty and needed pruning.  The grafting in of my dear wife and children, and many dear friends have made a profound change in me.  The trimming off of this sin, or that tendency has been much needed.  The laborers in the Vineyard have labored diligently with me.  I just hope in this tree’s old age, there may be still a few young and tender branches, that can shoot forth and bear good fruit.

Emotional Resilience

 Back in January 2021 I was invited to participate in a then new Self Reliance Course sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to which I belong.  The new course was called Emotional Resilience for Self-Reliance.  Currently it is called Finding Strength in the Lord - Emotional Resilience.  Almost immediately I felt a pressing need to participate.  I was 70 years old and keenly aware that if ever there was a time in my life that I might need emotional resilience it would be in my near future.  The next decade or two are bound to present me with drastic changes in my life.  During that time my wife or I could lose our health, become invalid and at some point actually die.  I found myself wondering if I was prepared to deal with those changes?  Could I actually cope with both the unknown of it, as well as the inevitability of it.  I signed up for the course.

I am so grateful that I did and that I took it seriously.  I’ve been through a lot in my life and I have coped well enough, with what has happened, still I felt somewhat unprepared and found the course beneficial in every respect.  Further, I made friendships that I expect to last for the balance of my life!  It was so worth my while!

I write this now, from the perspective of having dealt with some of the changes I anticipated.  I had hardly finished the course when I was called to serve in the Bishopric, a bullet I had thought I had dodged.  It was a blessing in so many many ways, but was also quite a challenge.  My health had begun to decline and keeping up with the Deacon’s Quorum was mostly accomplished, but really quite difficult.  Then came the big change.  In February of 2022 I was beset with debilitating Rheumatoid Arthritis.  It began in my feet and legs making it difficult to walk.  Gradually, it moved up to my hips and shoulders and most recently to my wrists and hands.  I went to see my Doctor in late February and he referred me to a Rheumatologisst, but he couldn’t see me until the 24th of May.  I was miserable and missing Church and my other assignments quite frequently.  I had two weeks of respite during the long wait, when my Doctor gave me two week long breaks by giving me steroids.  I’m still amazed at the complete relief those would give me.  Another respite came when our Ward boundaries were changed and I was moved out of the Ward and thus released from the Bishopric.

At first this affliction knocked me for a loop, but one day, reviewing what I’d learned in Emotional Resilience class, I began to consider what was real and what was not, how much of my suffering was imagined and how much was actual.  I realized in that process that I’d been living like a man with no future.  I decided to imagine a future and pursue it.  I must say that the steroids helped.  I took those two weeks, which were each a month apart, and did loads of yard work including planting a vegetable garden. I don’t think there is any greater benefit to gardening that the faith it represents as we anticipate the growth and yield of a vegetable garden.  It is the perfect example of expecting a future.

Reviewing what I’d learned in the class also helped me to deal in realities, such as the since proven fact that the Rheumatologist wasn’t going to fix me over night.  Here I am, two and a half month’s later with pitifully little progress as yet.  In fact the meds they are giving me add constant nausea to my ongoing complaints.

Best of all for me, was the assistance I received in identifying what I CAN do, rather than dwelling on what I cannot.  For some inexplicable reason, Arthritis has not effected my ability to type in the least.  My fingers are stiff and sore and I sometimes can’t open pill bottles or pull up the covers in bed, but for reason’s known only to God, I suffer not pain or restriction at all to sit here and type this.  Go figure. That realization has given me a great deal of pleasure and returned me to writing even more.  I’ve been working on a book that has long since been simmering on the back burner.  My journal keeping has not faltered and now, here I am blogging again.

I must say that while I’ve been discouraged, while it is quite apparent that my garden yield is going to be pathetic, while the weeds have taken over and the lawn has only been mowed by generous neighbors all summer, I am happy, content and optimistic through all of this.

A year and a half ago I had no idea this would happen, but God did, and in His kindness, not only prepared a resource to help me, but prompted me to make use of it.  It is ever more plain to me that the new name of the course most certainly applies, I have and continue to find strength in the Lord.

There remains an even more tender and poignant change in all of this for me.  During this same period of adjustment several close and valued loved ones have chosen to leave the Church.  This has been a devastating blow for me.  It has not diminished my love for them, but has given me cause for concern on their behalf.  Again the things I learned in the Emotional Resilience course has been so helpful.  Here too, I find strength in the Lord!  He loves them even more than I.  He is still watching over them, as am I.  I am not appointed to be God’s Sherriff as Elder Stevenson so wonderfully put in this Conference past.  I am appointed to Love, as I have always done, to share as I have always tried to do, and to invite as I intend to continue doing. While the Lord prophesied that even the very elect would be deceived, and while He has admonished us to beware, lest we be deceived, I have yet to find a place in the scripture that condemns the deceived, only the deceiver.  Hope and faith, and trust in the Lord remain.

RootsTech Connect

https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/rtc2021/home

I've been aware of RootsTech for several years, but had never participated.  Always before, it was a convention in Salt Lake City.  That was prohibitive because of time, cost, need for accomodations, etc.  This year, however, because of COVID 19 Family Search, the sponsor, put it all in a vitural format and offered it for free!  How could I resist!

I have long been involved in Family History work and an quite accomplished at it within the realm of my own personal needs.  Because I have no ancestry in Scandanvia, though, I have no expertise in Scandanavian research, for example.  But, in the realms of my own research I'm really quite able, though self taught. I came to seek RootsTech hoping to find help with breaking through a "brick wall" in one of my genealogical lines.  I came away with something else entirely.

I became enthralled with the Keynote Speakers!  People from all walks of life who had so many wonderful stories to tell of their family history!  Despite the fact these were often people who's circumstances, culture and ethnicity were far different from my own, I came away every time feeling like they were telling the story of my own family.  I came away feeling like we were indeed all one big wonderful, amazing family!

Most of the Keynote Speakers were highly successful in their own personal lives and I loved the tales about their rise from obscurity to stardom, for lack of a better word, on the shoulders of their progenitors, but more importantly upon the boost the commonly got from kind benefactors who were mostly strangers.

Astrid Tuminez, for example, was living in a slum in Iloilo, Panay, Philippines.  Her home was a handmade nipa hut standing on stilts over the water.  When she was five, a Cathoic Nun came to their home and invited she and her siblings to attend an expensive school in the city for free.  Thus, began her quest for education.  Missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints found her family when she was ten.  That led to her being able to attend Brigham Young University and later MIT.  She is now President of Utah Valley University.

Erick Avari, known to me for his wonderful role as Nichodemus in the acclaimed television series The Chosen, grew up in a middle class Parsi family in a small town in India.  The Parsi, fled Persia in about the tenth century to escape persecution and found a new home in India.  They were accepted on the promise that they would not seek to share their Zoroastrian religion with their neighbors.  As a consequence, their community is growing ever smaller.  Through the kindness of strangers he was enabled to come to America and seek his dream of becoming an actor.  His humility and appreciation for so many kindness was very apparent!  Such a kind, unassuming man!

There were other important and inspiring speakers, like Nick Vujcic, Lorena Ochoa, Sharon Leslie Morgan, Sunetra Sarker, Diego Morena, Bruna Benitez and Ladysmith Black Mambazo who were all wonderfully inspirational!  

Sharon Leslie Morgan co-authored a book called Gather at the Table.  I bought it on Kindle and began reading it last night.  Wow!  She is descended from slaves and her co-author Thomas Norman DeWolf is descended from the largest slave holding dynasty in America.  They met at a conference and decided to travel together to rediscover their ancestry all while co-writing a book describing their journey.  She told of the frustration, anger, anguish, fear and ultimate healing that came of their e experience.  I'll report on the book here later.

Another fun and productive feature was that you could connect with your own relatives through the conference.  Over a half million people registered for the conference this year.  Based on FamilySearch I was related to over 11,000 of them.  I could search for individuals or just run through the list!  Then with one click you could connect with them.  With another you could see how we were related and who our common ancestor was!  Ten thousand cousins at my fingertips!  Totally amazing.  You can check that out here:  https://www.familysearch.org/connect/               

I suspect that taking the convention online has been so successful that they'll continue to do it this way.  I sure hope so!

A Summer in the High Uintas

My Summer was full of unexpected surprises.  I’ve driven bus for my employer for seven summers now.  Some of them have been spent hauling girls to Girl’s Camp.  Others have been spent hauling Chinese Tourists to Yellowstone.  Other’s have been spent shuttling river runners to the Put In and hauling them back from the Take Out.

This summer was different.  This summer I hauled backpackers from Hayden Pass near Mirror Lake in the Western reaches of the High Uinta Mountains, to one of four locations toward the East where they’d chosen to begin their trek.  Some started at McKee Park near Highway 191, having 106 miles to traverse along the Highline Trail to get back to their vehicles.  Other’s started at Leidy Peak, shortening the trek to 83 miles.  Still others began at Chepeta Lake making their distance closer to 65 miles.  And, most recently, I shuttle a couple to the trailhead at Henry’s Fork (the most popular approach to King’s Peak, Utah’s highest point). They’re intention to climb King’s Peak and then finish their journey by hiking on to Hayden Pass.  I haven’t calculated the distance, but this one is considerably shorter yet.

It has been fun to spend my days high in these locals, though all of my approaches have been by van, being forced to leave the hiking to my passengers.  I have backpacked a lot with the Boy Scouts and once with my good friend Randy Merrell, when we did 60 miles in six days in the Grand Canyon, but that is for another tale.  Having done so though, I at least had a bit on common with my guests and also was somewhat conversant with the lingo and more popular destinations among avid practitioners of the sport.  Also, my personal acquaintance with one of the founders of Merrell Boots was of interest to most who often were wearing a pair of Merrell's.  For me, though, the biggest delight of the summer was just getting acquainted with all of the wonderful people who trusted me to drive them over those roads to their long awaited trip!

The variety of folks was really quite stunning!  There were three women, who did the trek solo!  This was quite alarming to me, but each of them made the trek just fine and my worries were completely unfounded.  There were several men who soloed the trail as well.  We had one large group and several groups of just two or three.

Eric was the first of the season.  I had shuttled him last year as well.  Both times he started at MeKee Draw, thinking it cheating if one didn't do the whole thing.  Last year he twisted an ankle near Leidy Peak and decided it best to abort, rather than get into potential trouble.  This year he made it the whole way and proudly called to report his success!  He was from the midwest and worked as a school teacher.  An academically accomplished and curious fellow, we had some great conversation on both trips.

Another couple of fellows who did the whole trail, shared the ride.  They were not acquainted with each other at all, and were both quite shy.  It took a while to get them talking, but when I did, I discovered that they were both single, 30-somethings, they were both LDS and both returned from Spanish Speaking Missions.  One was a horticulturist who was running the greenhouse for Red Butte Gardens, who had also run greenhouses in Guam and Alaska and the other was an Arabic Interpreter in the National Guard who been deployed to Iraq a couple of times.  They both lived on the Wastach Front.  A great couple of guys, who invited each other to travel together on their 106 mile trek.  Our conversations were all over the place!  

One of the women did the whole distance.  To save money, she'd ridden the Greyhound bus to Vernal and I just took her up to McKee Draw.  She told of several amazing hikes she'd done mostly in Southern Utah and in so doing instilled in me, the confidence to leave her up there alone to wander off into the wilderness.  Something that was hard to do. 

I took a nice young couple to Chepeta.  They were from North Carolina.  They seemed ill prepared and I worried about the altitude.  Chepeta is the most expensive shuttle because of the road.  Just the dirt part takes an hour and a half each way.  It is pretty rough as well, with little road base and lots of rocks.  That trip had two inches of hail added to the mix as we climbed the face of the mountain.  The young people reassured and reassured one another all the way to the top.  Chepeta is set way back from the front of the fairly flat topped mountain, away behind the head of White Rocks Canyon.  By the time we got to the lake the road was dry and the sky was clear.  But, when he got out he immediately took a huff on his Asthma Inhaler, I got concerned.  I hung around for an hour after they started hiking, in case they changed their minds and came back.  Turns out they did just fine.

Another group I took to Chepeta started at one of their homes in Kamas.  They wanted to leave the house at 5:00 AM.  I stayed in Heber the night before, so I wouldn't have to leave Vernal at 1:00!  We went over Wolf Creek as that is certainly the shortest route.  It was very dark so I was taking it easy.  I heard someone complain that I was going so slow that they'd never get on the trail.  Just then I came around a bend and hit a moose!  Thankfully, I was going slow and had managed to nearly stop before I bumped him.  With only one small dent just below the headlight, we carried on, this time with no more complaining!  On that route, we go through Hanna, Tabiona, Utahn, Altamont, Bluebell, Neola and White Rocks before beginning the climb up the mountain.  They were an experienced crew, some young some old, who planned on doing it in four or five days.  Pretty ambitious if you ask me!

Early in the season I took a group of men from the Salt Lake Airport to McKee Draw.  There were seven of them, sponsored by Z-Pack. Joe Valesco, CEO was with them.  He's done the Triple Crown!  Pretty impressive to me to meet a man who has hiked the Appalachian Trail (AT) the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) and the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).  These were all done in single expeditions, not peacemeal as some do.  The PCT is 2650 miles, the AT 2180 and the CDT is 3100 miles!  The other fellows were no slackers either.  Many of them were a film crew and the intent was to do a full length feature film of the trail.  A fellow named Red Beard was among them.  He's a pretty famous backpacker in his own right.  They even filmed a bit of me driving and telling a tale and have more recently asked if they might include that segment in the film.  15 seconds of fame for me!  Nah, they didn’t include it.

The Highline Trail is no joke!  Much of it is above 12,000 feet!  The Z-Pack group took ten days to make the trek.  During that time, one became incapacitated by blisters upon blisters, and Joe came down with Pulmonary Edema and both of them left the trail at Chepeta.  This is no disgrace to either of them.  Long experience and great conditioning are no guarantee that things won't occasionally go south in such remote, extreme and wild circumstances.

I also picked up this group at Hayden Pass to take them back to the airport.  Having read Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, I knew that getting back to civilization meant only one thing to these guys - FOOD!  It was all they talked about and all they did once off the trail!  They were all tremendous guys that I am happy to have met.  I can't wait for the film to come out!

Here’s is a link to the movie they produced!  It is really quite wonderful.  They came back and premiered the movie here in Vernal.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=D8FEJkya49g&feature=share

Book Review - As A Man Thinketh by James Allen

Here is a book I intend to re-read each year for the balance of my life, a routine I wish I had begun in my teens.  It is simple, concise, direct and worthwhile.

Unlike so many positive thinking-type books that are so prevalent these days, this one admonishes some personal responsibility in the process and is not based on a motivation of greed.  I loved it.  That's all!

The Joke That Made Me Cry

This morning the following joke turned up on facebook:

A guy is driving around Oklahoma and he sees a sign in front of a house: "Talking Dog For Sale." He rings the bell and the owner tells him the dog is in the backyard.The guy goes into the backyard and sees a Labrador Retriever sitting there.
"You talk?" he asks.
"Yep," the Lab replies.
"So, what's your story?"
The Lab looks up and says, "Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA about my gift, and in no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running.
"But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security wandering near suspicious characters and listening in.
"I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals. I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired."
The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.
"Ten dollars," the guy says.
"Ten dollars? This dog is amazing. Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?"
"Because he's a damned liar. He never did any of that stuff."

When I read it, I laughed 'til I cried.

I cried, because I have been the dog owner.  I have possessed friends and family whose mortal weakness blinded me to the miracle, the possibility and potential, the child of God they truly are.  I have undervalued them and have been willing to sell them for naught.  I have even condemned them for their mistakes, consigning them to a place of pain and sorrow.

I cried too, because I have been the dog.  I have often been unappreciated, undervalued, mistreated and condemned.  I have felt compelled to lie in the desperate hope of increasing my value and somehow, just maybe, gaining the approbation of another.  I have been judged and counted as unworthy of companionship because of my many sins and poor choices.  Sometimes, even, for just being me.

I also rejoiced!  Because I have been the shopper.  I have, now and then, been able to see past the flaws of another and been shown who he really is!  I have loved him and appreciated the miraculous child of God he truly is!  I have shown him that He has been purchased by a new owner who wouldn't insult him by paying a mere ten dollars for him, but who, willingly, joyfully, had paid the uttermost price for one as fine and precious as he.  And I have seen him respond with joyful obedience and love, to his new and perfect Master!

And then I wept, for joy!

Thank you Dogwork.com for sharing a joke that for me has become a Parable.

Journey to the Promised Land

Just yesterday I read a post that was so uplifting and encouraging to me that I shared it on Facebook.
"God will give you more than you can handle: I guarantee it," by Kayla Lemmon is profound!  Soon after posting it on Facebook I got a text from a dear one who was not comforted by Sister Lemmon's comments. My loved one feels the heavens are silent and that while she has tried and tried to get God to lift her burden it remains; and even seems to be growing in magnitude and intensity.

I've spent nearly 24 hours pondering her dilemma and felt to respond here as there are surely others who feel as she does.

First let me observe that what we all seek as we petition the Heavens is freedom.  Freedom from pain, freedom from bondage, from debt, from sorrow, from grief, guilt, disappointment, loneliness, bewilderment...  The list goes on and on. So I need to make a few observations about moving from bondage to freedom.  In her wonderful book My Grandfather's Blessings, by Rachel Naomi Remen; she recalls a conversation with her Rabbi Grandfather about the delivery of Israel from their bondage in Egypt.  Grandfather tells Rachel that after all the plagues, after the first born of Egypt all die, after the Angel of Death has passed over the first born Israelite children and after Pharaoh has finally let the people go; Moses goes to Israel to take them and they don't want to go.  "Why won't they choose freedom over bondage Grandpa?" Rachel asks.  To which grandpa replies, "The choice is never between freedom and bondage Rachel, it is between freedom and the unknown." (paraphrased)

Second, allow another observation.  Jesus, in the parable of the Second Mile teaches another principle that applies to our bondage.  The Jews were in bondage to the Romans.  An edict required that if a Roman encountered a Jew he could compel the Jew to carry his baggage for one mile.  Jesus suggested that the Jews carry that load for a Second Mile.  He was teaching them that even in bondage they could be free.  Sure the first mile was slavery, but the second mile was discharged as a FREE MAN!  The choice belonged to them and when they exercised that choice they exercised their agency and were indeed free!  Try to imagine the actual circumstance.  You're headed to work, for example and suddenly you encounter a Roman and inconvenience of inconveniences, you're stuck carrying the guys baggage.  He has no regard for your time, schedule, other obligations.  Perturbing to say the least!  How is your relationship with the Roman going to be?  What are you feeling?  What is he feeling?  Now, you choose, in the spirit Christ intended, to go the second mile.  Now how are you feeling?  How is the Roman feeling?  What happens to your relationship?  Your mood?  His mood?

Now, after considering these two concepts lets go on a journey with Lehi, shall we?  Lehi had a big problem, His life was in grave danger and his sons were on a perilous mission, so he took his problem to the Lord and he got his answer.  Here is how he explained the answer to his wife:

1 Nephi 5:5  “But behold, I have obtained a land of promise, in the which things I do rejoice; yea, and I know that the Lord will deliver my sons out of the hands of Laban, and bring them down again unto us in the wilderness.”

Notice that he is speaking of his blessing as thought it has already happened.  The promise is sure, but it most certainly is not immediate.  At least in the temporal sense.  He still has to make the journey to take possession of it.  Be reminded that the journey took eight years of arduous, hazardous travel, just to reach the sea and then the construction of a ship, and then a long perilous voyage before they actually arrived at the Promised Land.

God does not expect us to progress from point A to point Z in one jump.  Neither should we expect Him to magically make that happen.  If we do, we miss the point of being in mortality in the first place.  We are here to learn and grow.  Lehi's family had such an opportunity.  And they had a choice:  A) to believe that the Land of Promise was theirs and that all they need do is take the steps God directed for each day.  Thus, day by day progressing toward the fullness of the blessing; or B) to resent the journey for being in the way of the prize.

Looking back on my journey out of Addiction, I wish I had understood this better.  Through hind sight I can easily see that way back when, as I begged for deliverance from my bondage, the blessing was given to me, right then!  All I had to do was go where it was to receive it.  Naturally, I wanted it right now.  Blindly I felt I had been denied my blessing.  But now I see, that step by step God revealed to me what to do next, day by day until I reached the freedom I sought.  I think the same can be applied to any other form of bondage.

Had I known just this much back then, I might have understood that to be free is not a place or condition that can be just handed to us.  The parable of the Second Mile makes it plain that we can begin to exercise our freedom, before we are entirely released from bondage and in the process learn to be free under any circumstances.  This is important because it is a big key to enjoying and making the best use of the journey.

I wanted my complete liberty handed to me on a silver platter.  When that didn't come, I murmured and complained, got discouraged, rebelled, all that - just like Laman and Lemuel.  And at first when I arrived (on someone else's coat tails) I neither appreciated, nor made use of the blessing.  Also, just like Laman and Lemuel.  Nephi, on the other hand grew until, the Promised Land was in him, no matter where he was.

Lehi, was given a Liahona to direct his day to day progress.  We are given the guidance of the Spirit to do the same.  I'm convinced that there are none among us, who, if they deliberately paused several times each day and asked God the simple question, "What is the next right thing?", would not get the perfect answer for themselves.  Then, it is just a matter of believing that this will lead me out of bondage and toward the blessing I've been promised; and acting on that belief.  Sure it will be stepping into the unknown.  Take baby steps at first.  Your trust and faith will grow.

Some hesitate to ask that question, because the answers lead into unfamiliar territory.  He will most certainly ask of us more than we can give, so He stays with us to make up the difference in strength and resources.  I'll never forget the story of Mayor La Guardia as told by Cheiko Okasaki.  The Mayor liked to be involved in the day to day affairs of New York City, so one night he dismissed a Justice of the Peace and took over the bench himself.  During the proceedings that evening a lady was brought before him for stealing food from a grocery store.  Desperate to feed her grand kids, she'd felt it was her only option. He fined the lady and ordered her to reimburse the grocer.  Then, took money from his own pocket and paid the charges himself.  Then - he fined everyone in the courtroom $.25 for living in a city that would allow a destitute grandmother and her family go hungry, and gave her the proceeds of that fine.  So it is with God, sure He demands a lot, even more than we have to give sometimes, but He never abandons us to work out the impossibility by ourselves.  He wants us to need Him because in making that connection, He's preparing to make us utterly and fully free!  That said, He also wants us to grow in strength and capacity and that cannot be handed to us, it is something we must earn.  If you want strong muscles, you've gotta pump some iron, even 'til you feel the burn.

Study each of the Promised Land stories:  Moses and the Children of Israel, The Jaredites, The People of Lehi, The Mormon Pioneers, The Return of the Jews to Palestine, The Return of Mohammed to Mecca, The Pilgrims, St. Patrick's Return to Ireland, Shackleton's return from Antarctica, The Story of Abraham, Columbus' Voyage, even the Trail of Tears, and many many more and you will discover a common theme.

It is all about the journey, not the destination.  Each step along the way building the Promised Blessing in our very being. It is about becoming what we seek, so that when we get there we could be anywhere.

Looking back on my own journey I see miracle after miracle, that for me, rival the parting of the Red Sea, manna, pillars of fire and tasty raw meat.  They came as bread crumbs to follow, teachers to show the way, doors opened and others shut, paths cleared, new friends and wonderful books arriving at perfect times, and most of all, revealed guidance.  Looking back I see that God was with me every step of the way, helping, loving and patiently encouraging.

I think if you watch carefully, you don't have to wait 'til its over to recognize those miracles in your journey.  I know that if you watch for them you'll see them and in seeing you'll progress toward your freedom much faster than I did.

Google Search: Reunion

Book Review - Visions of Glory by John Pontius

   

I guess Pontius couldn't make it in Nuskin or Amway so he preyed upon our culture with another of its gullibilitites - the "faith promoting rumor!"  To me this is the worst kind of trash.

Chicago's Magical Piano

Uintah Basin Orchestra and Chorus Christmas Concert

Book Review - The Best of the West by Tony Hillerman

I've love Tony Hillerman's books for a long time and was, at first, disappointed that this one wasn't written by him, just collected by him.  Having read it though, I am NOT disappointed.  In this volume Hillerman has collected some of the best history, stories and lore of the West.  It is truly a delight to read.

You know I like bathroom books - ones that allow for a complete, stand alone, chapter for each sitting.  Well I've modified that.  Now they're my favorite bed time books.  If got to where I don't like sitting on the stool any long than it takes to do my business.  Perhaps due to a song I head recently about Three Old Ladies Stuck in the Lavatory.

I've lived in and read about the West all of my life, but this collection gave me a whole new appreciation for how the West was won.  Sometimes, hilariously!  Sometimes tragically.  Sometimes less than admirably.  Always fascinatingly.

My immediate desire upon completing each story was to get out there and see the place first hand.  I could spend a life-time just chasing down the locales of each fascinating tidbit of Americana.  I know a few Civil War buffs in the East who do just that.  I find this segment of our past to be far more fascinating and much less tragic.

Give this and all of Tony Hillerman's books a look see; they're true American treasures.

*****

Book Review - Picture This by Lynda Barry

Wonderful!  I can't believe how much I love this book!  And I kind of have a crush on Lynda Barry too!

If you, like me, are privately worried about looking good, keeping up appearances, what other people think; but longing to be authentic and to find expression for your true self - this book is for you.  

Some months ago I heard an interview with Lynda on NPR and her style and demeanor so impressed me that I bought her book, What It Is, sight unseen.  In fact, if I had seen it, I probably wouldn't even have picked it up.  

When it arrived I was shocked to say the least and thought I'd wasted my money.  It took a couple of days to even figure out how to read it!  Then, it began to click and then it began to change my life!  No kidding! That one was about writing, but it was illustrated in Lynda's unique style which intrigued me, so upon discovering she'd written one about art as well, I couldn't resist.

This go round, there was none of the reticence, no how-do-I-read-this? learning curve; just the sheer joy of watching someone be herself, celebrate her uniqueness and candidly show me how to begin to do the same.

We all start out as artists, writers, dancers, singers.  As children, self expression is a joy!  Gradually though, most of us lose that free expression and begin to hold back for fear of ridicule or out of self judgement.  Lynda has a unique gift for coaxing it back out, and with it comes the joy of uncovering who you started out to be.  I've looked in a lot of places for what I've found here and can hardly express me appreciation for the gift Lynda Barry has given me.  I so hope you'll take a look and comment on your own impressions.  

I really think I've turned a corner, and the view is so different from here I can hardly believe I'm in the same place!  Thanks Lynda!  For everything!

*****

A Good Day, A Truly Good Day.

Book Review - How The Light Get's In by Louise Penny

Finally, this long awaited book in the Chief Inspector Gamache series has arrived and been devoured!

I don't know if this is the last in the series (she left it somewhat open ended) but so much of the long and wonderful story was culminated in this volume.  While I can't imagine where she'd go from here, I've come to discover that Penny's imagination far exceeds my own.

I am always reading three books at a time and as it happens, some poor author has to have his work placed side by side with this and when compared with Louise Penny's work it seems a wonder that his got published at all.  Conspicuously absent are depth, theme, purpose, strong character development and credibility.  I only say this because, read alone, the other book is really quite acceptable, even exciting to read.  You see, I don't want to tear the other author down at all, I just want to elevate Louise's work to the pedestal it so richly deserves!

The story, lives, and circumstances of this volume were prepared and alluded to from the beginning of the series which seems utterly amazing to me.  She's obviously known where it all was going from the very beginning.  How ambitious, when considering the struggle she experienced to get the first volume even published.  How, disappointing, had she failed.  I don't generally like series.  I don't enjoy feeling entrapped into committing to more books in order to find out how it all turns out.  No so with this series.  Each book has been a gem in it's own right and the entire thread has been more than compelling!

The title of this volume is based on a verse from Leonard Cohen's Anthem:

Ring the bells that still can ring.
Forget your perfect offering.
There's a crack in everything,
That's how the light gets in.

I loved the concept when Louise introduced it to me years ago in a previous volume.  I love it even more now.  Back then I thought is wonderful advice for those, who like me are paralyzed by perfectionism.  Now, I think it more deeply expresses the critical need for weakness in our heroes, flaws in our plans, flies in our ointment and chinks in our armor.  The beauty of this and any story lies in the fact that life is happening to us, imperfect human beings, who were intended to have a completely mortal experience.  What would be so great about any of our stories if there was nothing to transcend?  Clearly perfection is not all it's cracked up to be. Transcendence, Penny's teaches in such subtle ways, comes from humility, more than capability, love more than ambition, honesty more than objective and loyalty more than security.  If you think she's wrong, let her persuade you herself.

...by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.                                            Alma 37:6

Book Review - The Eye of Moloch by Glenn Beck

Most of us distrust Washington.  This book of fiction gives a lot of insight into exactly why.  Beck calls it Faction, or Fiction based on facts, and he backs up many of them.  Like The Overton Window, the first in this series, The Eye of Moloch depicts a fairly credible scenario which would explain much of the idiocy we see on the surface of how this country is managed.

Most of us realize that many of the public figures we see are just puppets.  In these novels we begin to get a glimpse of the puppeteers, their motivations, methods and objectives.  It isn't a pretty sight.

Still it makes for great suspense and terrific thrills as we follow Noah Gardner as he gets swept up in a conspiracy of monumental proportions.

Clearly Beck has his libertarian motivations for telling the story.  He wants to educate.  And clearly, I feel educated.  Even so, the book is worth reading if for nothing other than pure entertainment, for it is definitely that too.

****