Little Things…

Last week, I didn’t post. My wife and I were in Disneyland. As much as I love blogging, I must say that riding Pirates of the Caribbean trumps that.

This week has been full. Westminster College, the college I am attending, will have its inaugural day tomorrow. I am very excited to be part of that.

 I spoke in the Spanish branch of my church this Sunday. It was a wonderful opportunity. The main theme I talked about was the progression of life. A lot of times, people do not progress much in life simply out of lack of vision. They do not know what they want to do, so many remain stagnant. Someone once told me a few ways to make life feel less stagnant, and to feel like we as people are going somewhere.

First off, some of the greatest advice I was given was fake it ‘til you make it. I was given this advice when I began my journey as a missionary in Chile. I didn’t know the language, I didn’t know how to be a missionary, and I really didn’t feel like I was ready to be looked at as a spiritual leader. The advice of fake it ‘til you make it helped. I was told to study the scriptures like an apostle. Speak the language like a native. Love the people like the Savior. Eventually, the faking became reality. In life, we need to just be confident in ourselves. If we love to sing, sing like the most famous singer. If we write, try to write like the best known writer. If we want to be a good friend, try to be the best friend in the world. Eventually, slowly but surely, we raise the bar. So much of what life is is what we perceive of it.

The other advice I received was that the purpose of life is to live today better than we did yesterday, and make tomorrow better than today. The important part of this is to not blow the improvements out of proportion. Little improvements count. We don’t have to make any huge jumps, just the little things. Today, we can be kind to someone. Tomorrow, it could be two people. The next day, help two people and send a text message to someone you have been meaning to talk to. Make today better than yesterday, and yes, the little things in life do count.

There are many little things that we can do in life. Let’s just try to improve.

A Fresh Start...

It is that time of year again. School is in session. I personally don’t start my college courses for another few weeks, but a majority of kids in Mesa are back to school today. It makes me reflect on days gone by, my school days, and what the first day meant to me.

I always viewed every school year as a fresh start. You get your little outfits, new pens and pencils, new haircut, a new schedule, classes, classmates. It is a very exciting time, a refreshing time. The way one carries their self the first day of school is also very interesting. In classes, I would keep distracting comments to a minimum. The inner clown would come out about two weeks into the school year, but for a little bit there I would keep myself pretty tame. It seems that many people during that adjustment period tone down their personality, testing the social waters of their surroundings. The first day of school is an interesting phenomenon.

I view days like that as special, a new start in life. Reflecting on those experiences, first day at school, first day at work, first day in a new city, in a new house, I see that people seem to be very forgiving. You always view first days as a new start, therefore generally one will forgive past mistakes of prior tries they have. I think that is an amazing thing that happens, and that is the reason why a majority of people really enjoy first days. It gives them an excuse to forgive themselves.

That having been said, I think about why that spirit of forgiveness is only present in new situations. Maybe our spirit of forgiveness that we owe to ourselves is misunderstood. Maybe our definition of a new situation is misunderstood as well.

We owe ourselves forgiveness. Life without forgiveness is a very painful experience. People will react to the way you live your life in many ways. That is natural, and many times they react in a mean manner. That will happen. What you can control is the way you forgive yourself. Set the example for others. We always talk about being an example, and showing others the way through actions. Decide that the example you will set for others will be forgiveness for self. They will see you do it, and then they will do it.

We look at new situations, or new beginnings all the time. I believe out view of new beginnings is completely wrong. School starting, a new job, a new location, those are often our excuses for a new beginning. A new beginning is simply the start of something new. The sun rising. The mornings commute for the day. Every experience we have is a new beginning. Every experience we have is an opportunity for us to start again.

To summarize my thoughts, as refreshing as a first day of school can be for the soul, every day is a first day of school. Maybe not a formal first day of school, but every day we arise with the opportunity to feel good about ourselves. We can forgive past mistakes, and much like study habits early in a school year, we can be more dedicated. We can try harder. We can get to know new people. We can realize that from this day forward, life starts. Every day can be a first day of school, if we let it be.