Life does not always feel that cozy with this big mortal test always going on so I revel in the moments. Per usual...fiddled around again and didn't post as thoughts occurred. Me bad. Speaking of such a comment, Me bad., I recently read that WYA means...where you at? Really? The dumbing of America? Or am I just old-fashioned or just all uppity on my high horse? I don't know!
I am enjoying my fountain pen! I'm determined to revive note-sending and letter-sending. Perhaps it will be a one way street but I'm not going to WYA through life! I will connect a few words from my heart and actually endeavor to write a sentence! It's not an easy task to connect and engage family and friends when I'm not in the cell phone circle and e-mail is pretty antiquated to a lot of my family. Facebook continues to hold me hostage so I can see pictures of those I really love and care about and their antics. Family and friends. I love my family and friends. And I love you readers! You are special to me so I'm counting my blog as a personal handwritten letter to each of you! (Okay. are we getting delusional here?)
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Probably like so many others in the world, with the call of our new Church President, I feel the prompted compulsion to read the Book of Mormon by next General Conference. That end date, by the way, is March 30th. I read a lot of Conference talks and also read the Scriptures but it's hard for me to read from cover to cover as I get sidetracked and start looking other things up and yes, I am reading it but I just get so scattered. I decided to make a change for success with a goal in mind.
I decided to have a paperback Book of Mormon be my Read Through Cover to Cover BOM. And I set the goal to read it, cover to cover, from General Conference to General Conference. It is really working great. I'm not distracted and start looking things up (well, not to much. actually hardly ever) And I read no chapter headings. I just go through verse after verse after verse.
I remembered years ago, flying from Alaska to Boise to help out my Mother and also needing to prepare to teach the BOM in Seminary that coming school year. I decided to read the BOM in the 3 weeks I would be there and that was how I read it. not reading any chapter headings. It was wonderful as the story line was so exciting with no breaks. This is the same way. I'll keep my regular scriptures for everything else. This little paperback is just for reading cover to cover.
I was breaking my BOM in. Now is that a term that people use in this modern world? You know...taking a new book and carefully opening it with several pages, and then gently pushing down the center so the spine won't break if you just whip it open and be rough. So as I was getting my paperback ready for the big read, I thought about reading and learning and in today's world how much I enjoy documentaries. Selected ones but there are really some great ones no matter where your interest lies.
Over the years I've been fascinated with the scripture- men are that they might have joy. Trying to understand the complexity of earth-life challenges, with pain and suffering and heartache and heartbreak and on and on, and how can one be having this joy? Therefore I've read a lot about happiness and gratitude and forgiveness and love.
In today's world, as I mentioned, I've watched documentaries about various subjects and not to long ago I watched two that fascinated me. Worldly things fascinate me when they actually are backing the teachings of the Church. Like it's now fashionable, a worldly thing, to basically live the Word of Wisdom- eat healthy/abstain from smoking etc. etc. Fasting monthly, and intermittent fasting ...lots of books about the wisdom and benefits of developing that habit.
(Really this is going to tie together) I recently watch two Documentaries... Happy and Inn Sae'i.
Inn Sae'i means the power of intuition. Actually it wasn't recently I watched them. It was quite awhile back so that means you will now get a hodgepodge on combo info on what so impressed me.
MumboJumbo....Mixed bag of info that I enjoyed!
The Gross National Happiness was measured and it turns out that Denmark was the highest rated. While Toyko, Japan was the lowest. Shocking to me was they have coined a word called Karoshi. The definition is Death by Overwork. Men are dropping like flies! They even filmed a Karoshi choir, seems they were all young females, singing to honor their spouses that died of Karoshi.
Okinawans, also of course Japanese, live the longest happy fulfilled busy lives. That went into healthy eating and exercise and balance and friendships and relationships.
A study was done in Happy (not to the Okinawans), electrodes applied, to measure the brain activity of good thoughts. Good thoughts being gratitude. They showed the ability to produce dopamine by expressing gratitude. They also showed the rise and impact between folks assigned to list weekly their gratitude list and the marked difference and rise, when it was done daily. But the big kicker, the #1 thing in alighting the brain with all sorts of goodness and the very greatest measure of happiness was...Acts of Kindness!!!
When they showed the incredible impact that acts of kindness have on the brain, connected with highest rate of happiness...I thought...The Gospel is so true!!!
Weren't we just challenged in December to focus on acts of kindness??
These two Documentaries added a bit more to my understanding of Men are that they may have joy. More and more I see that joy is possible no matter what sort of things are going on in our mortal trek.
Way to much written here but sending it out anyhow.
2 comments:
Not "way too much". As usual, for me, just enough. I bought a book at Costco before Christmas about the Book of Mormon. Actually, it IS the Book of Mormon but set up a little differently. On each page, on the left side, it lists down the page at each scripture WHO is speaking. Which, as you know, can sometimes be a little confusing. Then in the margin on the right side, it lists what is taking place/events. We are certainly encouraged to read the Book of Mormon every day, and that doesn't necessarily mean cover to cover. This new book allows me to look up events and study that!. And, the book was only $8.99. Another identical one on the Doctrine & Covenants...got that one too, $8.99. We live in a day where there is so much available for us!!!
Always love getting a note, Natalie. Is your name spelled Natallie and nt Natalie?
Costco? I didn't see those two books! you are so right...there is that information highway out there. It's overload availability and a matter of choice. Those two sound interesting.
Daily reading is really coming to the forefront, isn't it? I do love also reading cover to cover and it's hard because I always get pulled off and explore something that I just read. Cover to cover gives me the overall read, a connectedness of the entire Book and I love that. We each do what works for us and as long as we are reading...awesome! I enjoy thinking that you and I have testimonies of The Book!
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