Monday, June 20, 2011

Psychology Experiment

I just want to say thank you to those 14 people who were brave enough to help me with my experiment. I am happy to say that your suffering was not in vain.  My actual presentation was today and thanks to all of you I am happy to say that I got 100% on it.  My teacher said that it was very entertaining and he really enjoyed the video clips.  I couldn’t have done any of this without you.  I owe you all so much… especially something that tastes good. haha Sadly I am not able to upload the pictures or video onto this blog right now but maybe one day I will be able to do so.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Love with all your heart and make sure they know it.

There are so many times when we take for granted that which surrounds us, especially our family.  It is so easy to focus on the things that those people aren’t doing rather than the little things that they actually do accomplish.  We tend to hone in on the negative that we forget about all of the little mundane things that happen every day.  We also tend to assume that our loved ones know that we love them but we don’t do anything special to prove it to them.  Perhaps they do know that we love them but if we are always showing our love and especially saying it then there can be no room for doubt.  Also when we say it the more we think about it and mean it.  This causes our relationships to become stronger and our homes more able to invite the spirit.  In the hymn ‘Love at home’ it states “there is beauty all around when there’s love at home.”  The world becomes a brighter place, foods become more rich, your health tends to improve and quality of life goes up immensely when you love and know you are loved in return.
When you’re lying on your death bed you are never thinking ‘I should have invested more, I should have worked longer hours.  I should have bought nicer things.’  Normally your last thoughts go directly to those that you love and your quality of life and relationships you had with others.  You don’t ever want your last thoughts to be ‘did I love enough?’
In a talk by Elder Costa addresses this regret when he shared a poem posted by the husband of one of the flight attendants who was in one of the worst plane crashes in Brazil.  In this plane crash they say: ”There were 199 people killed, including passengers, airline workers, crew members, and others who were at the site when the accident happened.” This poem is entitled “Tomorrow Never Comes”, which is based off of a poem by Norma Cornett Marek.
If I knew this would be the last time I would watch you sleep,
I would hug you tighter. I would plead with the Lord to protect you.
If I knew this would be the last time I saw you walk out the door,
I would hug and kiss you and call you back to hug and kiss you one more time.
If I knew this would be the last time I would hear your voice in prayer,
I would record every gesture, every look, every smile, every one of your words,
So that I could listen to it later, day after day.
If I knew this would be the last time,
I would spend an extra minute or two to tell you, “I love you,” instead of assuming you already knew it.
If I knew this would be our last time, our last moment,
I would be by your side, spending the day with you instead of thinking,
“Well, I’m sure other opportunities will come, so I can let this day go by.”
Of course there will be a day to revise things,
And we would have a second chance to do things right.
Oh, of course there will be another day for us to say, “I love you.”
And certainly there will be another chance to tell each other, “Can I help with anything?”
But in my case, there isn’t one!
I don’t have you here with me, and today is the last day we have—our farewell.
Therefore I would like to say how much I love you,
And I hope you never forget it.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old.
Today might be your last chance to hold tight to the hand of the one you love and show all you feel.
If you are waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
Because if tomorrow never comes, you certainly will regret for the rest of your life
Not having spent some extra time for a smile, a conversation, a hug, a kiss,
Because you were too busy to give that person what ended up being their last wish.
Then hug tight today the one you love, your friends, your family, and whisper in their ears how much you love them and want them close to you.
Use your time to say,
“I’m sorry,”
“Please,”
“Forgive me,”
“Thank you,”
Or even,
“That was nothing,”
“It’s all right,”
Because if tomorrow never comes, you will not have to regret today.
The past doesn’t come back, and the future might not come! “


Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today.  Don’t ever assume that someone you love knows you love them but tell them.  Make sure you live everyday as if you were going to die tomorrow, letting everyone around you know how much they truly mean to you.  Then when that tragic day comes you will not have that regret of ‘did I love enough?’ but you will have a sense of peace knowing that you gave you’re whole heart, nothing wavering and there was no doubt about your love to others.  This will not only cause you to have a peaceful after life but a magnificent life here on earth as well because you will be surrounded by love.  And we all know the power of LOVE!

"All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Monday, June 13, 2011

Out of the best books!

So I know that this is my first post and I believe what you really all want to hear from me is a little bit about myself... Sadly you won't be getting that information in this post.  However, I will let you inside my head a little bit.  I really love literature. I love how things are written and how the words on a page form something that is awe inspiring.  I am astonished at how great authors can not only pull us into great literature but they can really make you feel something powerful. From every word that you read you feel empowered.


I have come to the conclusion that there are not only great writers but great speakers who are smart enough to put their words in writing.   There is an intangible immortalized power that is given from God to authors.  It is put into their minds and released into their fingers so that they might be able to share the deepest thoughts of his heart.  Once the words are down on paper they carry an immense enlightening capability to your consciousness.  As each word is read it enters into your mind and can flourish in your soul; empowering you with a divine spark that envelops the soul and enlightens the world. As each book opens, it opens a new world to your view and imagination.  As we internalize the words given to us I can’t help but feel for a brief second the veil part and God smiling down on me.  It is as if I have finally come across this great gift he had ready for me and had just been waiting for me to find it and open it.  As I reread passages and apply them to myself I continue to feel his love as if I had just found the secret hidden message specifically written for me.  I now have no doubt of the need for the scripture in Doctrine and covenants 88:118 which says “And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.  God has immortalized his words specifically for you in Books which he has inspired for your learning and growth.
Many times we get too caught up in the world and everything that is going on around us that we don't realize what we have right in front of us.  Even though many people don't find reading very entertaining and even though it is a little slower by reading we are better able to truly understand something and apply it for in our lives. To me you don't get the same affect or feeling from listening to a book on tape or watching a movie as you do from reading a book, which is why I find it so important for us to read and read often; especially the Book of Mormon.  Although it may be a little difficult to understand at first with time as we become more familiar with the way that it is written we will be able to understand it more clearly and apply it to our lives more thoroughly.  By doing this we will be able to draw closer to the Lord and receive his strength to overcome anything that is thrown in our path.
So as you probably can guess, throughout this blog I am not only going to be talking about myself but I will be talking about scriptures, and quotes that have impacted me and why.  I hope that one day or somehow this might be able to help someone somewhere.