"Just Enjoy the Show"

"I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.
We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all our strength that God can give us. . . .That is our policy. You ask, What is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory--victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror; victory, however long and hard the road may be."  [Churchill: the Life Triumphant, American Heritage, 1965, p. 90]

Doesn't that get you just pumped up?!?!?!?!

Whatever good thing we face in life, there's always some sort of problem or challenge attached to it. It's guaranteed for the most part. "When you pick up one end of the stick, you pick up the other". Sure...a lot of the time you can endure while kicking and screaming until you're blue in the face and then after a while it subsides. For anyone that has any sort of friends, you all know that that is the waaaaaay hard path to take. It gets you there, but causing grief to you and others. Surprisingly, it is easy to avoid. (For someone like me who has been known as a big worrier, this is definitely something i should take the advice of, huh?) It is in the HOW you face it and deal with it; that is how you grow and succeed.

(To start...i have some self-incriminating. Recognizing my weaknesses right away isn't a sign of putting myself down, it's just making myself aware of something to work on.)

-When it comes to failing a test or an assignment, i get upset but i get over it soon after.
-When it comes to not landing a job that i want, again...i get upset but i get over it soon after.
-When it comes to dating and getting turned down......yeeeaaahhhh....not so much that soon after.

While i have my "Captain Obvious" cape on, i'll just say that im a vocal person certain facets. Particularly in competitive circumstances and when i'm being stubborn. When disappointment hits in areas such as dating, my family and friends and many-a-roommate have heard about it...many times, to say the least.

While being back home in Colorado for the week break before the Spring semester starts, i've done a lot of sitting and staring off into space; to contemplate of course...And while looking ahead to the next semester, im working on curbing my attitude when it comes to dating disappointments. Just recently, i learned about another situation where i got my ticket down to the "friend zone", where i have been a frequent visitor in the past. At first, it was a little bit bummed out, but minutes later after processing it, i came to terms with it. Why? Well why not? If that was going to happen, then there's nothing i can do about it. I'm not going to beg or plead for a change of mind. It's a "Dang...but, oh well!" Gotta move on, simple as that.

Some things tend to take awhile for my mind to soak it all in, but when it does it usually stays there.

There's a quote from my oldest brother's high school graduation many years ago with a line at the end that says: "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how i react to it."

To dig into the Book of Mormon, there's the story of Laman and Lemuel. Sure, they made the trip from Jerusalem to the wilderness, back to Jerusalem, back into the wilderness for the next 8 years and then a boat ride to the Promised Land...but we read how whiny and a bunch of murmuring pansies they were. They endured through the challenges, but not well. When Joseph Smith was incarcerated in Liberty Jail through a freezing Missouri winter, the Lord told him "if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes". (Doctrine & Covenants 121:8)  Although the conditions sucked, he did endure it well and was taught many revelatory things by the Lord.

So the lesson i want to learn here is...just enjoy the show. Things come and go and happen for a reason. No need to give myself an ulcer constantly showing anger or emotion. Yeah, it'll show at first, but quickly getting over it is the goal. Speaking of "just enjoy the show", i took that from watching Moneyball the other night. To be more scriptural:

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."


So...Just Enjoy the Show.