No Place Like Home

Where beauty is none existent to dull eyes

Where sky vibrates at the hum of metal birds

Where land is harsh,

          Constant and endless till it touches the distant sky

Where summers are extra hot and the winters extra cold

          And the wind seldom stops to take a breath

Where apricots are miscarried as blossoms

          And zucchinis grow fat and old on the vine

Where mini cannibalistic pigs that whistle jayrun across highways

Where birds of prey are your nearest neighbours

Where the name itself is a lie

This is my view,  jealous? ;)

People

People. People are what matter. PEOPLE are what matter in life. This life is meant to be a purification process, to change us from dirty lumps of coal to beautiful crystal clear diamonds and people are what help us do that. So when you ask yourself, "why in the world would anyone say that," or "what did they do that for," think to yourself, "Oh! That is for me, to make myself a better, brighter, clearer diamond!" and, grudgingly at first, say "thank you" and remember that people are what matter, PEOPLE :)

The cure to sadness is not some-
thing you can buy at the drug-
store or find on the internet. The
cure is simply choosing to smile
in spite of everything. Because
eventually that smile will be real
and the sadness will be gone and
you, my friend, will be happy.
 -Anna Martin

Books, the Lazy Way to Dream and Feel

The way to occupy your mind with dreams

Without having to invent them yourself.

The lazy way to dream,

To open a book and read!

Dreams enfold with every turn of a page.

The characters' feelings bleed from the pages and stain your hands red.

The story goes with you even after you lay the book down.

Detrimental or advantageous,

You don’t a choice now but to carry them with you.

A Stephen King book could cause more fear to pump through your veins than blood.

A Jane Austen could be as refreshing as a shower after a good, hard work out.

A self-help book could make you feel as if you drank a nasty protein shake, healthy but dissatisfied.

And an Agatha Christie could bring to your remembrance the many flaws in humanity.

But after setting the book down and leaving it untouched,

The easy dreams will eventually begin to fade and die,

The feelings once always with you will start washing away,

And what will be left?

Your feelings,

And your dreams.

Come What May, and Love It

The following are a selection of quotes from Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's Conference talk in October 2008

"I think she may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don't sing and bells don't ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.

How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can't - at least not in the moment. I don't think my mother was suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don't think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.

If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead us toward times of greatest happiness.

Learn to laugh.

It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable.

Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of out on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.

Because Jesus Christ suffered greatly, He understands our suffering. He understands our grief. We experience hard things so that we too may have increased compassion and understanding for others.

Sometimes the very moments that seem to overcome us with suffering are those that will ultimately suffer us to overcome.

The third thing we can do is understand the principle of compensation. The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our partner, helper, and advocate. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to be successful. If we do our part, He will step in."

The days that should have been your worst days, somehow turn out the best. And on the days that were supposed to be your best days, everything seems to be going wrong. I looked up a few quotes that help make our bad days good and our good days better.

"At times we may despair that our burdens are too great. When it seems that a tempest is raging in our lives, we may feel abandoned and cry out like the disciples in the storm, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38). At such times we should remember His reply: “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” (v. 40)." -He Heals the Heavy Laden , Dallin H. Oaks

“When you find yourselves a little gloomy,” said President Lorenzo Snow, “look around you and find somebody that is in a worse plight than yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it with the wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; and the first thing you know, your gloom is gone, you feel light, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, and everything seems illuminated.”

There are times when you simply have to righteously hang on and outlast the devil until his depressive spirit leaves you. As the Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith: “Thine adversity and thine afflictions, shall be but a small moment; “And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high.” (D&C 121:7–8.)

While you are going through your trial, you can recall your past victories and count the blessings that you do have with a sure hope of greater ones to follow if you are faithful. And you can have that certain knowledge that in due time God will wipe away all tears and that “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Cor. 2:9.)

Let your minds be filled with the goal of being like the Lord, and you will crowd out depressing thoughts as you anxiously seek to know him and do his will.

...the devil’s designs of despair, discouragement, depression, and despondency can be defeated in a dozen ways, namely: repentance, prayer, service, work, health, reading, blessings, fasting, friends, music, endurance, and goals. -Do Not Despair, Ezra Taft Benson

What Thinks Christ of Me?

Selections from Neil L Andersen's talk in April 2012.

Wherever you now find yourself on the road of discipleship, you are on the right road, the road toward eternal life. Together we can lift and strengthen one another in the great and important days ahead. Whatever the difficulties confronting us, the weaknesses confining us, or the impossibilities surrounding us, let us have faith in the Son of God, who declared, “All things are possible to him that believeth.”

Jesus told the leader of the synagogue, “Be not afraid, only believe.” Discipleship is believing Him in seasons of peace and believing Him in seasons of difficulty, when our pain and fear are calmed only by the conviction that He loves us and keeps His promises.

At times we thoughtfully wonder why the miracle we have so earnestly prayed for does not happen here and now. But as we trust in the Savior, promised miracles will occur. Whether in this life or the next, all will be made right. The Savior declares: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

I testify that as you love Him, trust Him, believe Him, and follow Him, you will feel His love and approval. As you ask, “What thinks Christ of me?” you will know that you are His disciple; you are His friend. By His grace He will do for you what you cannot do for yourself.