Money and Rest

       I have a good attitude toward money.  As a husband and a father, money is the substance to provide for the needs of my family.  I don't worship money or think about it all the time but it is important and needs to be managed appropriately.  Currently, I feel very blessed for the money I have.  All my basic needs are met, as well as my families.  If I were to worship money it would consume me and I wouldn't ever have time to think about anything else. All my personal relationships would be negatively affected. If I had the thought that money could buy me happiness it would take me only a short time to realize that fault.  If I viewed money as a means to serve others, only then would it bring happiness. I firmly believe that paying tithing and fast offerings perpetuates a righteous view of money. Being a faithful tithe payer has blessed me with the financial security I have today and will continue to bless me.  According to Stephen W. Gibson the rules to prosper are as follows: seek the lord and have hope in him, keep the commandments including temporal ones, think about money and plan how you can become self-reliant, take advantage of chances for learning, learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated, and do not send away the naked, the hungry, the thirsty or the sick or those who are held captive.
      I have thought a lot about rest after reading chapter 7 in A Field Guide for a Heros Journey.  I agree with the phrase "All work and no play makes johny a dull boy".  Through out my long academic career, I have always set aside Sunday as a day of rest from my studies. After a long intense week of studying I was always relieved when Sunday came. It was a great excuse to not study.  Striving to keep the sabbath day holy can give you the power and energy to get through very difficult curriculum. I've also lived by the adage, work hard play hard. I remember some long weeks that Sunday wasn't always enough and I needed additional time for a mental break. The activities I would choose were usually fun and physically demanding. These activities and mental breaks would restore my flame to push forward with clear thoughts and mental endurance. Currently I'm very grateful for home life.  The demands and stresses at work can be quickly washed away when greeted at home by a happy child or loving wife.  Occasionally I find it difficult to rest. I always have a feeling I should be doing something.  These feelings most liking have been instilled in me by my father who never seems to rest even on his "time off".  I sometimes wish that we had taken more family vacations growing up.   I worry that as I continue to pursue my goal of becoming veterinary practice owner, life will get busier and this principle of rest will fall fast to the bottom of the priority list of things to do. I will have to plan for rest or it will probably not happen.  Luckily I have a wife that will remind me to rest once in awhile.

Wayne

I couldn’t help but think of a great co-worker while reading chapter 4 of A Field Guide for the Hero’s Journey.  Out of the 4.5 years that I’ve served in the military, there’s one that stands out by far.  It’s the one year that was most productive and the one year that I was excited to go to work.  Wayne was my co-worker.  We complemented each other well, not to mention our personalities were very similar.  Our roles and responsibilities were quite different, but there was equal respect.  Because of our similar humor, I felt like I could be myself.  He was smart, competent, confident, experienced, and I had complete trust in him.  For this reason, I could concentrate on tasks that only I could perform.  Our combined work ethic allowed us to perform exponentially better than others that I’ve been partnered with, which in turn, allowed for needed down time and unwinding.  He placed his confidence in me even when I doubted myself and hopefully, I instilled in him self-confidence and endless potential.  If I could hand pick a co-worker in the future, it would be him and if I couldn’t have him, I’d want someone exactly like him.  I’ve realized that who you work with makes all the difference.  I’ve also recognized that I need humor to be better.  All those that I’ve ever worked with that had a sense of humor were the best co-workers.  They can brighten your day and lighten the burden of a poor outcome.  Thanks for a great, unforgettable year, Wayne!

Talents and Seeds

I enjoy reading the stories and thoughts in the Hero’s Journey.  The stories that stuck out to me were the Parable of the Talents and The Emperor of Flower Seeds. The Parable of the Talents is always a good reminder of what the Lord has given us. We have all received spiritual gifts, physical talents, abilities, and skills.  It is so easy to hide your talents, especially during the developmental stages.  Fear often hinders our progress.  We worry of failure, ridicule, and embarrassment.  It’s difficult sometimes when life gets busy to prioritize time to develop talents.  I worry sometimes that I have talents that I squander and talents that are unknown due to the lack of exploring and trying new and different things.  The happiest times in my life are the times when I am using my talents to bless the lives of others and the excitement that comes when developing a new talent through feelings of accomplishment and concurring a new skill.  I am forever grateful to be a member of a church that constantly reminds me of my potential and allows me to grow despite my weaknesses. 

In the story of the Emperor of Flower Seeds, I was impressed by the woman’s diligence, honesty, and obedience.  She herself had skill to grow things and I could imagine her frustration when the seed didn’t grow.  Both frustrated in her own abilities and sad to disappoint the emperor.  Yet she continued diligently to nurture the seed until the very last day.  She also strictly adhered to the emperor’s command to return in six months even though her efforts had failed.  It is better to be honest in all your doings, then to lie to impress others, cheat to get ahead, or steal what isn’t yours.  I hope that I will always be known for my honesty and that others will freely place their trust in me.

You’ve got to be willing to be a fool

This week I decided that I wanted to finish the book Mastery by George Leonard, so I read the epilogue.  After reading the entire book, I felt like the epilogue stood out to me the most.  The answer to the mountain man’s question, “How can I be a learner?” and the response, “It’s simple.  To be a learner, you’ve got to be willing to be a fool,” made perfect sense to me.  My family and I had the privilege of visiting both Salzburg and Vienna last week.  Both locations were areas I had lived and served as a LDS missionary about 14 years ago.  My mind couldn’t help but think about the difficult, but wonderful times I experienced there.  I remember how difficult the language was for me and how long it took to become a master of the German language.  Pride and my unwillingness to feel embarrassment was a major setback for me.  My progress in the language didn’t come until I became “foolish”.  I remember being so concerned about saying everything grammatically correct and without accent, that if I felt like I couldn’t accomplish both of these, I wouldn’t say anything at all.  Maybe said in a different way, becoming a fool is a willingness to make mistakes despite embarrassment.  First, I hope that as I age, I will maintain and even increase my desire to be a learner.  Second, I hope that my fear of embarrassment or public ridicule will not upset my progress on the path of mastery.