Stop the waiting, already.

I think sometimes we wait to be happy. I don’t think we do it on purpose; I think we just sometimes get so muddled down in the day-to-day and think that happiness can’t be attained until ____ happens. Until we have a new job, until we get married, until we graduate, until we come home from our missions, until we have a family, and so on.

I also think we sometimes wait for these landmarks to happen in order to start working towards or becoming the kind of people we hope to become: a better cook, more adventurous, more Christlike, a better member missionary, more positive, etc.

Sometimes life can be very challenging and discouraging. Sometimes it feels like a waiting game. Sometimes we see the skills and traits of everyone around us and don’t know how to start to change or become something better or different. But I really believe that happiness can be felt and enjoyed every day, regardless of whether graduation, the baby, new job, or husband has come. Desire, skills, and traits can be acquired with hard work and focus. Why do I believe it? Because I believe that we can control the way we react to our circumstances. That ultimately, people were made to act and not be acted upon. And although applying principles and habits of action and progress won't erase every difficulty or sadness, life's challenges can be better understood when the the real purpose of living is understood and put in perspective.

My favorite quote of all and every and any time, about what we are actually here to do and be, is this one:

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about it a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of- throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

With the perspective that the waiting game, the roadblocks to perceived happiness, that the constant struggle to better is all part of the plan to make us better people, it's much easier to understand, accept, and maybe even enjoy. I hope this becomes a space that I can record and reflect on the waiting game, the roadblocks, and the challenges, and see that there was truly joy to be found in each of these times. That I will be able to see my efforts to become a more thoughtful friend, a more selfless giver, a more committed disciple, a runner, a cook, a life-long learner, a positive influence, a musician -- that they will happen. Slowly. In time. I just have to keep working at them.

You want to come along? 
Sure, of course you can. 
See ya next time.