You Wild Child!

Have you ever danced on the wild side?  Was it thrilling?  Scary?  Did you feel daring and dangerous?  Did you feel brave or feel like a trailblazer?  

Or did you feel something different?  Did you feel alone?  Scared? Without hope? Did you feel isolated from the people around you?

Me too.

At first it was freeing-- less rules, or at least fewer that I was obeying or paying attention to.  I felt very grown up and mature about making 'my own life' and it was, for a time, very thrilling.....until I realized all I was giving up to be 'free'.  

Sometimes, if we grow up in a place and time that we don't understand, we try out new things, new paths, and new vistas.  But if they don't work out, we usually just move on, hoping that the next 'new thing' will offer what the last 'new thing' lacked.  We eventually realize that what is lacking in our lives isn't what is, or is not, on the outside-- it is what isn't in us anymore on the inside, and that lack, is what can be the difference between a meaningful life, and an empty one.

Knowing who we are-- having an absolute, supreme understanding of that, will change us forever.  If we are a musician, we will play until our fingers are numb-- and it will bring us joy to keep on playing.  If we are an artist, to create will be our driving force-- it will define our environment, and if they let us-- everyone else's environment too. 

 When we find our identity, we are in a perfect spot to make something of ourselves...... and no matter what anyone else says or thinks, we will continue with our passion-- because it is our passion in life.

Which brings me to the 'wild child'.  In 2 Nephi 15:4, it says, "....Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, it brought forth wild grapes."  Sometimes we walk on the 'wild side' because we don't know yet who we are.  We may have been told we are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, but being told isn't the same as knowing it.  When we lack the pure knowledge of our divine heritage, we are not going to behave in the same manner as we would otherwise.  We are going to make more mistakes and make decisions that in retrospect bring tears of sadness when we look back at them.

But when that moment of understanding comes....our hearts will leap with joy.  "...yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death."  2 Nehpi 11: 5

Walk in joy.  Be your best self. 

Eat the good grapes.

Heavenly Father loves you.

Are your windows clean?

I was washing dishes one morning, when the doorbell rang.  When I answered it, a young man stood at the door, asking if I would like my windows cleaned.  I looked over at the glass in the living room, and thought to myself, 'They look clean.'-- so I told the nice young man, 'No thank you', and he left.  

Six months later, the same nice young man came again.  'Would you like your windows cleaned?' Again, I looked, and knowing I had just used Windex less than five days ago, I said, 'No thank you'.  

This time, after he left, I stood inside my living room, and looked out.  I examined my windows around the house, I walked slowly past each one, and really looked.  You know what?  My living room window was sparkling clean.  My kitchen windows were pretty clean, but in the rest of the house.....those windows weren't so clean and sparkly.  They had smears, cobwebs and dust in the corners, and there was a dead fly in more than one window in the back of the house.

Maybe I should have said, "Yes."

 

How often do we take the time and energy to clean what can be seen by others on our public image, but leave our private, and personal areas less than clean and tidy?   Do we allow the dust and dirt to build up over time, or even worse: do we purposefully add to the grime?  I am speaking of living our lives in such a way as to have our public and personal identity be equally full of integrity-- of honestly living what we claim to hold dear.

Our eyes are the windows to our soul.  But sometimes our 'windows' get a little dirty.  It can be hard and difficult to stay close to our Heavenly Father if we are trying to see Him in our lives with dirty windows.  Things get clouded, and dull.  We can no longer see clearly, or even see and understand His directions for us if we choose not to consistently clean our act up.  

What does it mean to 'clean up'?  It means saying 'No,' a lot. It means saying, 'No,' to such public poisons like porn.  It means saying, 'No,' to big and little lies.  It means saying, 'No,' to acting in anyway contrary to what you know to be right.  It means keeping your private life just as clean and tidy as your public one.  

Wouldn't that change so many dynamics in our society if everyone did this?  

Cleaning our 'windows',  also means saying, 'Yes' a lot.  Yes to all the good things around us.  It is choosing people over things.  It is choosing to allow the Atonement of Christ to actively work in our lives.  It means us personally taking responsibility for keeping our eyes on the things that bring peace, hope, and faith.  

We are all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, and as such, we have the divine right to inspiration and guidance from a loving Heavenly Father.  However, we must not forget what Peter Parker learned, "With great power, comes great responsibility."  We need to speak up, and speak out about what we are choosing for ourselves.  We don't get to sit down on the couch and expect everything on the T.V. to be a perfect fit for us-- and we certainly don't have to applaud those shows or movies that have so many people enthralled, if we know that there are going to be parts in them that we know will add grime to our souls. Instead, we take responsibility for what our eyes will see, and what our ears will hear.  

Here is a line I came across this week:  The real life we are preparing for, is eternal life.--  President Henry B. Eyring.   

I want to see life-- and I want to see it clearly.  

Pass the Windex.