Throwback Thursday #21 - "Giving Compliments"

Today's Throwback Thursday comes from September 25 of last year.

Sometimes, I write really long, meandering posts I imagine some people give up on before they've even started.

Other times, I write shorter posts.

In every post, I (emphasis on) try to tell a true story from my life, to connect that story to a gospel principles, and to deliver a challenge. Sometimes these elements are more subtle, especially when they are inadvertently buried in the longer posts.

That's why I like today's throwback. I find it simple, yet powerful. And you can't miss those three elements.

Click here to read Giving Compliments!

Evolution: And Another Thing ...

"Finding Joy in the Journey" - Thomas S. Monson

Yesterday, I described driving up a canyon to take some time to meditate. It while I was up there that I realized something very important.

I like going on drives without destination.

I have had many friends throughout the years who have advocated meandering drives. Some of those friends even go so far as to invite me to hang out with them on those drives. For the most part, I've turned them down. What's the point of moving when you're not heading anywhere? I thought.

My perspective on similarly simple things has also changed over the years. For example, whereas I used to fear and loathe dogs, now I, at the very least, tolerate them. It's funny to me how the passage of time can provide and prompt experiences and subtle changes to work within us, most of them without us ever recognizing them.

My drive yesterday was therapeutic in a way it never was back in the day. But now, I think back to those who first planted the seed all those years, and I thank them strongly.

Prayer: Country Drive

Psalms 102:17 - "He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer."

I needed to talk with God today. I could have done it anywhere, but, instead, I decided to take a drive.

Up Provo Canyon I drove, zooming down the road while dodging all the traffic heading home. I passed several of the places I've highlighted in my record before, including Bridal Veil Falls. I had nice, mellow Chillstep playing, allowing my thoughts to wander and organize themselves.

I eventually found a small ridge overlooking a gorgeous lake. The ridge itself bore a small dirt road that led to fenced-in private property. It took me a couple of passes to actually embark upon the road, but once I reached the top, I turned around so I faced the lake. The sun was slowly setting. I was overwhelmed.

The being I wanted to talk to had created all this, grander than an oil painting, larger than I could explore even if I spent the rest of my years so doing. How could I hope to address Him? Why would He care?

I napped. The cars sped by below my ridge, unaware of my presence.

I woke and spoke. Words were difficult. Feelings were easy. I tried to express gratitude and plead for help with nothing but my raw emotions. I felt spent at the end, but I found the strength to begin the drive home.

There was a moment at a certain turn when I felt a certain power rise within me, something simply not of myself. I have reflected on that moment up until I began penning this post at work.

You can talk to Him.

Once Again: Empty Parking Lot

Ezekiel 37:12 - "Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel."

In the last four years, I have said good-bye to a large number of small, tight-knit communities I have grown to love and cherish. 

From Jacksonville to my freshman ward in Provo to Smyrna to my MTC group to Maryvale, AZ to Montego Bay to May Pen to Spanish Town to Port Antonio to the Jamaica, Kingston mission to Washougal, I have met individuals who have done nothing but change me for the better. A day doesn't go by that I don't remember my experiences from at least one of those places and feel gratitude.

I honestly thought that I had the art of saying good-bye down to a T. However, following the end of this last semester, I realized I still had a ways to go.

Throughout my life, it has been I that always shouldered my bags and walked away from the community. In regards to my past year of college, when all was said and done, I was not the one walking. Instead, the community bid farewell and walked away from me.

It's a strange experience, passing through and past the halls that once contained my dear friends and finding them barren. In many ways, I feel like the survivor of a horrible plague that consumed everyone I knew, save for the few other individuals besides myself immune to the disease. In this case, the disease is being homebound; the immunity, staying for ongoing education.

So, once again, I've had to ponder the effects of reconciling oneself to abrupt absences in one's life, even in a unique way I never have before. Thankfully, the same method I've used throughout those eleven-odd walks still applies.

No matter who drifts apart from or moves away from or loses contact with a loved one, they will eventually be reunited in the grand family reunion in the last days, when all will be resurrected and be brought to a remembrance of all things. Even though I may never see some of the friends I've made throughout my life in this mortality again, I can be assured they will not be forgotten, by either the Lord or myself.

Today, I want to invite all of you to honor someone to whom you've said good-bye. If you need a medium, use the comments below. As for me, as I walk through that lot from home to work, I'll be remembering you.

Sunday Snapshot: Window

"A Season of Opportunity" - H. David Burton

What Will I Do? (Poem)

2 Nephi 2:27 - "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose ..."

What will I do?

If I'm given the chance to smile

If I'm given the chance to serve

If I'm given the chance to sacrifice

What will I do?

Will I only frown

Will I turn away

Will I but scavenge

What will I do?

Will I still be me when everything's right

Will I still be me when the world's gone wrong

Will I remember the things I've been told and taught

What will I do?

When I'm relaxed with my guard down

When my darkest hour sends me to my knees

When I'm far from home and love and peace

What will I do?

Will I rise above my natural self

Do good no matter what others do

Will I be a voice of truth and light

What will I do?

There's one thing I fear above all

When the lights are out, and I'm by myself

When enemies threaten down my door

When friends abandon all sense or rhyme

When I have lost all there is to lose

When screaming is the only option

I fear I will not do.

I fear I will be done.

So now, I make my choice

I will only do

When chips are down, white flag is up

I will not forsake what I know

I will not forsake who I am

I will not forsake who I aim to be

So I don't have to ask, "What will I do?"

Diamonds in the Rough: Poetry Slam

John 16:13 - "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."

On Wednesday, my friend contacted me and lovingly demanded I join him in visiting a poetry reading. "Come on!" he said. "It will be fun!"

GUH.

As most of you recall, my experiences in my six-credit English class last semester helped me come to some very specific conclusions about how I plan to proceed with my continuing studies of the subject. Among others, I will no longer glorify the author, I will seek out timelessness as opposed to historical backgrounds, and I will shun poetry like the plague.

Now, don't get me wrong, I do like poetry. I write poems for this blog all the time, remember? I just don't think writing good poetry makes you as wise as some poets seem to think they are, especially when the concept of 'good poetry' is so arbitrary. 

Anyway, I decided to go with my friend, and I discovered I was right to cringe. Several of the readers focused far too much on author or on the historical background.

Where the readings took place. It's even more cramped than it looks.

However, many individuals brought their own individual pieces in, and I ended up really enjoying watching them shine their light. Heck, even my friend stood up and read a composition of his own, a rollicking good piece that had everyone dying.

But, see, in the end, I recognized I didn't decide to go for the poetry.

When I made that decision, the Lord was nudging me toward something else entirely.

Seeing as how the readings were performed in the library, a couple of librarians came to read a few pieces. One older gentleman in particular read a poem about how awesome it is being a librarian.

My top pick for a Masters currently is Library science.

Having fun, isn't hard, when you've got a library card. NAME THAT TV SHOW.

So, for the first time since I first heard of the Library Science Masters, I had the opportunity to corner, sit down with, and talk with a full-fledged librarian about the whole shebang, from what it takes to what to expect. I didn't come to any solid conclusions or anything, but the poetry reading gave me the right push and nudge in the right direction to begin my research into becoming a librarian.

Sometimes, when you decide to do something, even if you don't really want to do it, the dividends are far greater than you originally anticipated. This is one of the reasons I'm always encouraging myself to get out there and try new things. Even if you don't find what you think you will initially, you might find something better.

I was invited to a poetry reading. I left with a greater understanding of where my future might be headed, complete with a living resource in the form of a new friend, namely the librarian with whom I became acquainted.

What are you going to find today?