Thanksgiving To A Four Year Old

This little girls has an EPIC gratitude list. She and I spent a little time sitting on the bathroom floor and talking this morning. I explained what thanksgiving was and asked her what she was thankful for. Over the next 15 minutes, in between our other conversations, here is what she said. None of this was prompted, or even expected, by me.

E: I’m thankful that Jesus made our bodies...I’m thankful that he made rainbows. And did he even make the sky and clouds?

K: Yes.

E: I’m thankful for those too. And birds and butterflies, and I’m really thankful for the trees.

K: You like all the pretty things don’t you?

E: Yes, but most of all I like cute things. So cute and pretty.

We talk about other things for a bit, then...

E: I’m thankful that I love to sleep—well—I’m not really thankful because I cry, and I don’t really like Amelie’s crying.

We finish preparing her breakfast…

E: I’m thankful for everyone!

K: I’m thankful for food!

E: And drinks! I’m thankful for Church. And the temple…

But the best really cute thing that I’m thankful for is at grandma’s house…it’s DISNEYLAND!

(As a side note, this is one of the many variations on how she regularly dresses at home).

Understanding Meditation

I recently listened to a CD called Pure Meditation. In it, Pema Chödrön teaches about the Tibetan Buddhist practice of meditation. The entire talk is mind blowing and so inspiring, but here are just a couple of my favorite concepts from it.

I love how much emphasis Pema puts on cultivating ultimate compassion and friendliness toward ourselves and others. She also debunked some of the myths I had believed about meditation, thus helping me realize what it really is and is not. Before listening to this, I felt like I would never be able to sit comfortably and meditate, removing all thoughts from my mind. But now I understand that it isn't supposed to be comfortable. It's about being with ourselves and accepting what we are in the moment. Sort of like checking in with oneself each day, and confirming that we are invested in our own well being. If you are looking to learn more about meditation, I can't recommend this CD enough!

Midday, Midweek Thought

I just listened to an awesome talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf where he talks about "The Incredible Power of HOPE." If you want to get some positive thinking going on, click here and give it a listen. It's amazing what the feelings and thoughts of hope can do for us emotionally, physically and spiritually.

"Hope is one leg of a three-legged stool, together with faith and charity. These three stabilize our lives regardless of the rough or uneven surfaces we might encounter at the time."

Becoming Like A Child

I'm sure it's no coincidence that on the day I've been thinking about "becoming as little children", I would happen upon this video. Before I get into the video, let me just be clear on what I've been thinking.

"Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

"Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18-3-4

With those verses in mind, consider what I was considering this morning. Many people I know are selective about the movies and TV shows they watch, hoping to avoid things that aren't uplifting, or contain inappropriate sexual content. But so often violence is justified as being ok because "it's only violence." I was imagining watching a violent show in front of my sweet, innocent little girls. What would their initial reaction be seeing something like that? Fear, disgust, shock, uncertainty? My four year old would probably run into her room and bottle up that feeling; she'd try to convince herself that she could bury it, not talk about it again, and everything would be ok. But the fact that it could potentially affect her in that way is interesting to me. I wonder if each of us tried to obey the commandment to become like little children, would we begin to feel sensitive toward the media we let into our minds? Would we realize that in order to continue watching, we'd need to convince ourselves that we could bury the feeling, not talk about it, and everything would be ok?

Media happens to be the example that came to my mind in pondering this concept. But the important part is not the example used, rather the lesson behind it. If we consider the qualities children possess, and try to gain those qualities ourselves, maybe we would begin to move away from things that we wouldn't want our children to do or see or say. Perhaps that seems extreme, but I don't think it is.

There is a huge motivation behind abandoning bad habits. "The simple fact is this: anything that does not draw us closer to God, takes us away from him." (Spiritual Bonfires of Testimony Joseph B. Wirthlin)

The video referenced earlier hits on this point. We are made in the image of God (see Genesis 1:26) and our bodies are temples of God because of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us (1 Corinthians 6:19). If that is the case, shouldn't we be more careful about how we nourish that Spirit? Each thought we think, image or movie we see, and word we say has great influence on ourselves and our spirits. Elder Russell M. Nelson put it perfectly in the video when he said: