Good Pickin

DISCLAIMER: THIS BLOG EXISTS FOR ENTERTAINMENT. MOST OF THE POSTS ON THIS BLOG CONTAIN PHILOSOPHICAL MUSINGS MIXED WITH HUMOR. THIS POST CONTAINS NO HUMOR. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.


Pretty much any time I go to Smith's the person I am with points out the fact that I seem to know everyone in the store. While this is not true, I certainly know a lot of people. I like to make friends and keep friends. I also like to have acquaintances. Because of this predisposition I have a wide and varied network of people who I know and greet at many of the places I frequent, one of which happens to be Smith's. Given this cornucopia of persons, it stands to reason that I have a number of female friends. And now we get to the meat of my thoughts...

I have surrounded myself with the most wonderful women it is possible to know. And many of these girls are such brilliant beacons of humanity that I am confident in putting forward that they are some of the best people I will ever meet. Many of these girls have been, currently are, and will continue to be my examples of a Christlike and beautiful person. I have been blessed simply to know them.

As a final thought, let me thank those of you who have uplifted me and helped me to see myself more clearly. If I am any sort of a good person, I have no doubt you are partly responsible. There is almost no chance of you reading this, but thank you.

And for anyone else reading this, there is a lesson here as well. Because of these girls and women in my life, I am trying to be the kind of person that uplifts the people around me. Let us follow their example and be beacons of uplifting joy.

Sunshine of your Love

This is a declaration. But it is a declaration that needs to be preceded by some thought.

I feel confident in saying that the world could benefit from everyone in it being more loving. If more people made their decisions based on love, rather than greed, ambition, anger, etc., I think the world at large would be greatly improved. So, in the interest of filling the world with a bit more of "the good stuff" (no, I don't mean Jim Beam) let us have a short discussion about the nature of love.

Love is perhaps the most universally admired attribute. It is a defining feature of many, if not all, of our literary heroes, and it is the keystone of all the major religions I could think of just now. Being so important, it must have some sort of definition. Webster defines love as many things, including strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties, the score of zero (tennis), and unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another. For my purposes, I am going to focus on definitions 2 and 3. Mostly 3.

Gordon B. Hinkley defined the love in a marriage relationship, as in Webster's third definition, as an anxious concern for the happiness and well being of another. Specifically, he said, "True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion." I feel that this definition of love could be broadened and applied to the vastness of the human race. If we all thought more about how we could help our neighborino, rather than how we could make our yard look better than his.... As I think about this, I can't come up with an example of applying this principle to international relations, but I think it is more of the attitude and way of thinking that matters. People who have an external focus tend to make decisions that are the most beneficial to all involved parties. Love, I guess, is a kindness and unselfishness of action.

So, now that we have a rudimentary understanding of how I personally view love (incidentally, my ego believes that everyone should think this way) I can continue on to my declaration.

I am going to be more loving.

Yes, I am going to be more loving. I am going to think more about other people than myself. Or that's the plan anyway. But I am not going to simply say, "I love you" more often. I am actually going to be more loving. I am going to act. I am going to make time to listen, really listen, when people talk to me. I am going to continue to do all the little things I do around my house to keep in nice looking, because I love my roommates. I am going to act on all those thoughts I have. You know the ones. Like when you think, "I should get a flower for Sarah" or "I should write a letter to Grandma."

Hopefully, putting this in writing will put it in my head. And hopefully, I'll be able to have an effect on the world around me. And hopefully, I'll leave the world a little brighter.

Bouldering

I love to climb. I love it outside, I love it inside, I love it on rocks or plastic or concrete or pretty much anything with friction. But bouldering has a place all its own. Bouldering is unique in that it is both extremely powerful and physically demanding. And at the same time, it is one of the most creative activities I have ever pursued. A boulderer can stand in front of a giant chunk of rock and do anything he or she wants. He has the basic pieces given him in the structure of the rock, but she can do anything imaginable with those pieces.

Last week I took a trip to Joe's Valley for some bouldering, and I learned that bouldering is more than just climbing. It is an experience. Because bouldering requires only short bursts of your time, much of a bouldering trip is not even spent bouldering. It is spent skinny dipping in a river. It is spent sitting on top of the rock you conquered, just feeling cool. It is spent chatting with the wonderful people you made the trip with.

Procrasto-student

I have found that sometimes I really just don't want to study. Starting Monday....no, Teusday, I will begin to be the most studious person you know, excluding my room mates.

Something To Share

I just wanted to share this with you. This guy, is amazing, and he comes with an amazing band. Enjoy this.

Check this Video Out

Panther Martin

Sometimes, I feel like Life is a mid forties woman who has just become totally bored with her own life. To make up for her boredom, she comes up with creative ways to toy with those of us who can't alter the universe. I think she takes especial pleasure in toying with me. Not torturing. Toying. One of her favorite tricks is to present to me something new. Usually, this something is particularly wonderful, or has the potential to be so. Life dangles this new wonderful in front of me just long enough for me to get a taste of how fantastic it really is. Then (and here's the fun part) she drops down a sign next to this new bait informing me that I can't actually have this as part of my life. I don't know why she does this, but it happens on a fairly regular basis. And by regular basis, I mean I thought of it this morning and decided to write about it. It may or may not be regular. It has happened this month though, if that means anything.

First In Your Life

I have just had a truth confirmed to me:

Improving a relationship between two people is most effectively done by building your personal relationship with God. The qualities that develop from this relationship with deity will translate into a more loving, forgiving and serving relationship.