Grate-a-ful

Nov. 8

1. Racquetball. Physical Activity is as necessary as sleep.

2. I can't believe I'm actually in grad school. I can't believe they let me in. I am grateful. And they don't care about grades once we're in the program either!

3. I like deep, strong words. I usually don't like others quoting them, haha, but I like knowing about them. Here let me quote one for you:

"It also means recognizing that we are not here on earth to see how important we can become, but to see how much difference we can make in the lives of others" (Gordon B. Hinckley, Way to Be, 95).

P.S. This is a cool video: education

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What is going on?

Gratitude November 7

1. Teaching Gospel Doctrine

2. My sister making me grilled cheese and tomato soup

3. People forgiving and forgetting

3.a. Friends who validate when you weren't looking for it.

Note:

In answer to the previous post's questions:

1. That picture was of me flipping off a lobster boat into the ocean off the coast of Maine.

2. Telephone Murder Charades is the funnest game in the world next to ga-ga ball (which is a form of dodge ball which neutralizes competition and aggression.) One person from one team has to act out a long elaborate way someone can die which the other team makes up. Then the next person has to watch the acting job and act it out for the next person and so on. So funny.

3. I am grateful for homeless people because they humble me. They make me realize a lot about this mortality. I don't believe it matters why they are begging. I beg all the time in my prayers for stuff I don't deserve.

I'll copy My Sister

I am copying elizabeth who has copied heather. Here are some things for which I am grateful.

Nov. 1

1. Pictures of good times

2. Road Trips and Back flips

3. Maine and Mount Rushmore

Nov. 2

1. Soccer

2. Answering questions

3. The smell of pumpkins and fall

Nov. 3

1. Spiking hard in volleyball

2. The word BAM

3. My Organizational Behavior class and learning about keys to creativity and insight - mixing it up

Nov. 4

1. Man talk

2. Knowing it's ok to be me even if that means not wanting to earn a lot of money

3. Knowing life will click eventually, it has in the past

Nov. 5

1. Telephone Murder Charades

2. Salt on Avocados

3. Prayer and PowerPoint homework over essays any day

Nov. 6

1. The Decemberists' songs CraneWife 1,2, & 3 and the Mariner's Revenge Song

2. Homeless People

3. Good friends who call me on the phone and tell me good things

Love it.

The complexity of society is illustrated in this article:

http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/rdPncl1.html

This is a great response:

http://broadcast2.lds.org/general-conference/2010-october/2010-10-1070-president-dieter-f-uchtdorf-64k-eng.mp3

I'm in Provo. I just came from the Black Hills of South Dakota. It was a wonderful time there and I'm grateful for it; but, what isn't there to be grateful for in my life? It seems like everything works for my good, or some body's good.

While in South Dakota I worked at Mount Rushmore as a Intern Park Ranger. And because I only earned $15 a day I got a second job in Keystone working at a fudge shop! Ha! Imagine that. This entire summer was a sacred enough experience that I probably won't talk about it with people. Sure, I'll tell them what I did and how great it was. But how can you talk about something you don't understand, or is so custom fitted that its explanation wouldn't fit any one else? Whatever this summer was I don't know if I'll ever get it back again. But that's ok, there'll be more of life's tender mercies and I don't believe life will now progress into a decrescendo. But it was an experience through and through and I couldn't have made it happen if I had a thousand years of planning. And I don't think I care one bit whether I deserved it, or whether it was prudent, or whether any goals were accomplished. I don't care what was accomplished; or, anything really - it felt good and right and sure enough it was good and right. I wasn't looking for much.

And here I am a year later in Provo. It seems a year ago I was heading out to Maine. I knew things were off then, but I didn't know how to work to fix them. Now a year has gone by and a lot has been fixed. . . I should have stepped out of the way earlier.

From what I've learned so far - I've got no plans, or as Abraham Lincoln said: My policy is that I have no policy. I am going to deal with my situations as I find them, with the relevant data I possess at that time. So, it will be 2 years of graduate work, and that will be fun.