I'm not a perfect person. I have my faults. I sometimes let the dishes stack up until the kitchen stinks. I sometimes say things I don't mean. I don't usually floss my teeth, and I don't say thank you enough to people. Still, there's one thing I feel I've got right:
I know how to live.
These days you can hardly turn on the radio without hearing some song about how life is to be lived to its fullest now, because you never know when it will end. Even in General Conference, President Monson encouraged us to live in the present, and to not wait until later to be happy. It's a common theme I've noticed over the past few years, and I've learned a lot from it.
I've learned to watch a good sunset all the way through. I've learned to sip my hot chocolate (never drink it) until it's gone. I've learned to listen to my husband's breathing as he sleeps by my side at night. I've learned to watch my baby's face for almost hours, taking in every expression. I've learned not to get too serious when I'm at church, but to enjoy all the little reminders around me of God's presence. I've learned not to be so absorbed in what I look like. I've learned to listen better. I've learned to love with all my heart. I've learned to live in the moment.
There's a big difference between living in the present and the "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die" attitude. The difference is that when you live for now, you don't live with regrets later. You learn to take in life, whatever it is at the moment, and to enjoy it, learn from it, and take that part of life with you into tomorrow. You learn to reflect on what you have, and find the happiness in it, even during the rough times.
Like I said, I'm not perfect, and I'm still working on this, but it is one thing I feel strongly about. Life is to be lived, not endured. Find the joy in the simple, the every-day, the now, and you will always be happy inside.
These days you can hardly turn on the radio without hearing some song about how life is to be lived to its fullest now, because you never know when it will end. Even in General Conference, President Monson encouraged us to live in the present, and to not wait until later to be happy. It's a common theme I've noticed over the past few years, and I've learned a lot from it.
I've learned to watch a good sunset all the way through. I've learned to sip my hot chocolate (never drink it) until it's gone. I've learned to listen to my husband's breathing as he sleeps by my side at night. I've learned to watch my baby's face for almost hours, taking in every expression. I've learned not to get too serious when I'm at church, but to enjoy all the little reminders around me of God's presence. I've learned not to be so absorbed in what I look like. I've learned to listen better. I've learned to love with all my heart. I've learned to live in the moment.
There's a big difference between living in the present and the "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die" attitude. The difference is that when you live for now, you don't live with regrets later. You learn to take in life, whatever it is at the moment, and to enjoy it, learn from it, and take that part of life with you into tomorrow. You learn to reflect on what you have, and find the happiness in it, even during the rough times.
Like I said, I'm not perfect, and I'm still working on this, but it is one thing I feel strongly about. Life is to be lived, not endured. Find the joy in the simple, the every-day, the now, and you will always be happy inside.
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