Section 88 and the Effect of Change

It's fascinating to me how the Lord manages to teach us timely lessons but only as we're ready.  He never casts His pearls before swine, and so it is with His teachings.  It's only when we're prepared to receive light that we realize it has been surrounding us all along, and that the Lord, the source of that light, has been waiting for us to recognize it.

I've been out of my comfort zone for the past fortnight-and-a-half.  Being in California means warmer weather, strange roads, smaller YSA wards, and more insight from family I haven't seen as often.  But to me, it also represents a time for considerable self-reflection.  Any change in my surroundings seems to have that effect upon me.  And right now, several changes are underway.

In Keeping an Empty Cup

So I've been in Roseville, California for the past week or so.  Several interesting things have managed to fill my mind since my arrival.

I met two people out here last week who I randomly started talking to about the gospel.  I don't believe it is any easier to talk about religion in California than it is in Utah, but rather I think I'm so dependent on the people around me now that I've become significantly more friendly.  Ironic it is how one's friendliness is indirectly proportional to the number of friends who surround him.  Perhaps that is why the Lord is constantly pulling us out of our comfort zones?

The Art of Spiritual War

Sun Tzu was a legendary general in China during the middle of the Zhou Dynasty.  He wrote the book, "The Art of War", that contains 13 key strategic points to winning in battle.  Think of it as the 13 Articles of Faith for army generals.

I bring up Sun Tzu because I've had a couple of questions that I felt were blog-worthy recently, and one of the points Tzu brings up links the two questions.

Mo-(tiva)-tion

When I was but a lad, Mamma Sweet used to encourage me to hurry up by using the phrase, "come on!  Motate!".

As it happens, "motate" is not a proper word.  It exists in the urban dictionary nowadays, but not in any classical one.  I always took the meaning of "motate" to be of the same root as "motion" or "move".  And that seemed to be the same thinking Mamma Sweet had in mind, because only motion would appease her encouragement.

I never moved out of my own will back then.  I was compelled to move.  I was going to be late for church, or we were going to miss meeting dad for lunch, or I wasn't eating my cereal fast enough to catch the bus, etc.  In my "motating", I was only going through the motions.

Working at Night

Some of my favorite moments in my life are when I discover things about myself through passive pondering.  For example, I discovered one night that I like watching "feel good" movies late at night - because when I do, usually I'm the only roommate who lasts through them.  So when they're done, I can ponder the message of the movie without being disrupted.

Through reflection, I've identified another thing I like to do:  work at night.