Happiness Discovered

I was listening recently to a talk by the psychologist, Martin Seligman, who has studied what makes people happy. He described the three types of life that bring happiness. (1) The Pleasant Life which consists of obtaining as much pleasure as you can, and filling your days with only pleasurable activities like going shopping, watching television, taking drugs, etc. (2) The Engaged Life which is a life of being one with the things you love. This comes by knowing what your strengths are and then directing your life to use those strengths at work, in relationships, and in all you do. (3) The Meaningful Life also consists of knowing your strengths and then using them in the service of something that you believe is bigger than you are.

Seligman explained that while the Pleasant looks good it only works as long as the pleasure lasts. There is no sustained happiness or satisfaction that comes from the pleasure. But there is a great deal of sustained happiness and satisfaction found in the Engaged Life and the Meaningful Life.

As I listened I was suddenly struck with the fact that the gospel of Jesus Christ (the Good News!) warns us against a life of mere pleasure and not only encourages us but promises us happiness if we are “anxiously engaged in a good cause” and if we forget ourselves and devote our time, means, and efforts to building the gospel of Jesus Christ—something bigger than we are.

Isn’t it amazing! Once again science “discovers” what the scriptures have taught for ages.

The Power of Gratitude

One of the most powerful Truth Tools is Gratitude. It is absolutely amazing how using this tool can chase away the vexing thin in your life—for one thing it changes how you see life and it also brings joy to moments in which we normally overlook the joy. 

To help sharpen this tool, make a commitment that for the next 21 days you will identify three things that you are grateful for that happened that day. It can be something you see or experience or do and to facilitate the sharpening process you must write those three things down each night before you go to bed.  

As the days go by while doing this you can feel yourself change. While going about your day knowing that at night you are going to have to record three things, you find yourself looking for good all day long. And you find things to be grateful for in some surprising places! Writing it down at night brings back the warm memories of what you discovered that day and reinforces the good feelings which contribute to a peaceful night’s sleep. Three weeks of doing this makes it a habit—a habit you won’t want to break.

What You See

There is a strange phenomenon that occurs in life that affects every one of us and yet it is something we seldom stop to think about. That is the condition of “mirroring.” Ancient philosophers recognized it and said that we as people see the world not as it is but as we are. What this means is that if we are generous and kind we tend to assume that others around us are generous and kind. Or if we are jealous and prone to gossip, we assume that everyone else is jealous and tends to gossip.

I once met a woman and as we talked she found out that I met a group of women each morning to go walking with for exercise. Her immediate reaction is, “I could never do that! A group of women is just a gossip group.” I was stunned because the group I was walking with didn’t gossip. She made an assumption that must have been made from her own experience not mine.

This takes on significance when we look at the Sermon on the Mount and read that the pure in heart will see God. Yes, they someday will behold God face to face, but more importantly the pure in heart see God in everything around them. Instead of seeing a stranger as someone wearing expensive clothing, they see the pure in heart see a stranger and recognize a fellow child of God-a sibling. Being pure in heart means that you see the world differently. It means that you see the world through pure and righteous eyes.

So today I'm paying close attention to what I see and then learning about myself.

Sabbath Scripture - Trust

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;

and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all they ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Hello, Today!

Sometimes we let the past discourage us. Sometimes are so centered in memories and what we have done that we aren’t experiencing what is going on right now. Sometimes we fret, worry, stew about the past and forget that our Savior can and will take care of our past. So instead of vexing we need to start each day remembering that today is a new day and that means new possibilities, new experiences, new decisions to make, new people to meet, new ideas to encounter, but most of all new ways to be.


It doesn’t matter what was in the past, all that matters is what is now. So live today like it was the first day of your life—after all, it is the first day of the rest of your life! And make it what you want it to be.

Finding Good!

Beautiful white snow in the morning on my way to school and sun that almost looks like springtime in the afternoon on my way home!It's the season of the crocus!  What more could I ask for? Life is good. Especially if you look for the good and then enjoy what you find after you look.

My Mom

 I went up to the Bountiful hospital to see my mother yesterday and just have to tell you what a spunky woman she is. While I was there the doctor came in and said that the C-scan showed that she has nine broken ribs and a cracked collar bone.  Of the nine broken ribs there are only two that are broken in one place; the other seven are broken in two or three places each and I mean broken not cracked. They are floating! All nine are on the right side so it means that she has almost nothing (there are only 12 ribs on a side) to hold her organs inside her body. She is going to be in a care center for at least two months and that didn’t set well with her. As soon as the doctor left she said to me, “I think it will only take a month.”

After she fell she said she couldn’t breathe and as she lay there the thought came to her, “I think I’m dead.” And then she thought, “Oh no, I’m not dead. I’m in too much pain to be dead.” That’s my mom! Pain is proof of life! If you ask her how she is she answers, "I'm doing fine." And she sounds like she really means it.

She is a spunky woman who is enduring the pain without complaining, and maintaining her sense of humor through the whole thing. When I grow up I want to be like her.