The Simple Things



 We were sitting around this Christmas evening when I was engrossed in what I was doing, and Alex called my attention to the sun sinking below the horizon.

She has learned to recognize subtle shifts in light and color which indicate that we are about to get a beautiful display of color. Colton also headed to the porch to take in the beauty.
We had just opened gifts, had lots of delicious food, and have watched wonderful productions this week.
But the simple and profound beauty of sunsets is something that stirs my soul. The fire-like strokes reached across the horizon providing a beautiful backdrop and show of artistry. It warms my heart to know that my children have also developed the appreciation for the simple things which cost us nothing more than to look up.
Richard L Evans gave this beautiful advice more than 70 years ago which is just as true today.
"We may be faced with a lowered physical standard of living, but we need not be faced with lowered standards of thinking.....
Learn to like what doesn't cost much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, roving, climbing hills.
Learn to like people even though some of them may be ... different from you...
Learn to like to work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done.
Learn to like the songs of the birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house, and fixing things.
Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of the rain on the roof and the windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter day.
Learn to keep your wants simple, and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others."
I'm grateful that Heavenly Father has provided so many things and that we have the capacity to learn to appreciate them all.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trust

Image
  As I was riding a bike down the former train route along the Idaho-Montana border, I had hours to quietly reflect and appreciate the lush mountain landscape extending around me as far as I could see.   I was in a prayerful state, open to the promptings of the Spirit.   At one point I came to the edge of a meadow and needed to sit and rest for a bit.   There I found a lovely rustic bench made from a tree right there in the forest.  And it occurred to me how often the things we need are right there in our lives around us. The people, the resources, our talents and gifts. Psalm 34:8 lovingly promises “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him”. He will provide.   And as we learn to recognize that help, we will become more grateful and happy. 
Read more

Pancake Stirrers

Image
 Have you ever found yourself super upset over a rather simple offense? Generally when that happens it is actually due to much more than that incident.   It is likely just that incident that was the last straw, or used up your final bit of patience. Yesterday I had a student come to my room absolutely outraged.   She has a significant trauma history and so has learned to fight at all costs. Her counselors and our staff are working to help her build some new, more effective ways of dealing with frustration and confrontation. In this instance her role in her culinary arts class was to stir the pancake batter.   Only someone else did and her immediate reaction was to want to fight her. She knew that wasn’t appropriate so walked out and came to my room. After she had vented and calmed down, we talked through it.   Humor is a very effective tool for her so after gauging her body language I simply asked, “Are you going to let your whole day be ruined because someone else stirred the pancakes
Read more

Entitlement

Image
  As we stopped to get family donuts this morning, the sign in the restroom caught my eye. “Please be considerate of others and clean up any messes you may have left.” It reminded me of a sharp contrast I observed several years ago.  As a young class visited the restroom, a student balled up their paper towel and attempted to toss it into the trash can from across the room. He missed and went over to pick up the paper. His teacher immediately stopped him and commented, “Oh you don’t need to pick that up, that’s what we have janitors for.” What a missed opportunity. The child had naturally felt responsibility for his own actions and had tried to pick up his mess. Yet instead of helping cement that foundation of personal accountability, the teacher had reinforced entitlement and laziness. This same attitude is increasingly prevalent in society today.   It sounds like “Why should I have to?”, “Someone else will do it” or “It’s not my job”. Elder Dallin H Oaks stated, “The values of the wo
Read more