BBBbbbe Incredible!

OK - I don't know who wrote this, and I copied this from my cousin, Kip's, newsletter - who got it from our Aunt Alberta. So Aunt Alberta - if you know the author of this, please email me or put the info in the comment section and I will make the changes. And as Kip did, I am taking liberty to change a few things!!

One annoying trait that society in general heaps on our heads  is  the consistent  and constant haranguing  of how you should be. Be nice, be happy, be smart, be clean, be on time. Some people want you to be different; others encourage you to be the same as everyone else. We should be productive and never be lazy. We all want to be interesting and to be fun. A boy scout is expected to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, brave, and so on. Even the army tells you to "be all that you can be." 

These expectations aren't bad, because they help us to strive to keep improving. The danger is that this word "be" is at the very heart of who we are. When we are told how to be, our very being is therefore challenged…as if we are not good enough. This tends to wear away at our self worth until we don't feel that we will ever be good enough. We need to be taught instead, that we are beings of infinite worth--no matter what you choose to be or not be at any moment in time. Out of 7 billion people in the world, lets face it, you are one of a kind. No one else has the combination of thoughts, physical attributes, creative ideas, and abilities that is uniquely you. Your very present you is a result of chemical, electrical,  and biological processes that are united with an actual spiritual being that gives you life.  This is  nothing short of miraculous. 

Your mind is capable of storing, sorting, instantly recalling, and evaluating billions of bits of information--more than any computer on the planet. You can train your body and your mind to synchronize perfectly in order to perform amazing feats, anything from climbing a mountain to playing the piano to sending a text message or painting a masterpiece. You can reason and dream and create new ideas, and coupled with this spiritual you, in short, your value is immeasurable and with the right choices nothing will be impossible to you. The value of making correct choices cannot be underestimated.

With this in mind, please don't ever let the daily grind and endless expectations of life make you feel depressed or worthless. Take time every day to celebrate you. Set aside expectations or conditions and simply revel in the joy of your existence--just be.

With all of the things you are expected to be, it's a good idea to set them aside once in a while to just be…just celebrate the fact that you exist and have infinite worth. In other words ...Stop and smell the roses as well as enjoy the beauty that surrounds you daily and then choose. 

I myself would rather smell the roses even if they have thorns. When looking for the negative and the ugly things in the world - it will be easy to find them. But if your attitude is to BE around all that is BEautiful, it will surely come in simple wondrous moments.

Out of Town Till July

If you wondered why I havne't posted anything, it is because I am in NYC for my internship. Head on over to www.annbytesthebigapple.blogspot.com  if you want to know what is happening in my life right now.

My Six Month Check-up

Every six months my church has General Conference. It is a time when we hear counsel from our Church leaders, including our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. The first weekend in April and October, two, two-hour sessions are held on both Saturday and Sunday.

They are wonderful weekends in which the Spirit of the Lord nourishes my heart and soul through the words of inspired men and women who speak to us.

Every time I am reminded of my purpose on earth, and that we are sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father who is mindful of us. I am encouraged as I listen and contemplate areas in my life that need course corrections. As our Prophets speak of Jesus Christ our Savior, the Spirit testifies to me that what they proclaim is true. I feel blessed with this knowledge.

I feel peace and joy in listening and learning how to follow and become more like my Savior. I look forward to filling my spiritual reservoir.

There is a children's hymn that we sing called Follow the Prophet. This is the last verse and chorus line, maybe it will resonate with you and you will want to listen to a Prophet too:

Now we have a world where people are confused.
If you don’t believe it, go and watch the news.
We can get direction all along our way,
If we heed the prophets—follow what they say.

Chorus
Follow the prophet, follow the prophet,
Follow the prophet; don’t go astray.
Follow the prophet, follow the prophet,
Follow the prophet; he knows the way.

Words and music: Duane E. Hiatt, b. 1937. © 1989 IRI

". . . as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings"

Today when I woke up, the skies were dark and stormy. The affairs of the world have been dark and stormy too. The first thing I wanted to do was call my children, to tell them I love them, to reassure myself that they are OK. But more than anything I wanted to gather them together under my wings, to protect them from the bruising realities of life. When my children turned 18 – they wanted to leave and venture out into the world. At the time I was OK with that. They needed those experiences which would help define who they are.

But now, I want them home, with all their baggage and dependents in tow. I want to protect them and shield them from the realities that cause pain and suffering. I want them to feel safe.

In the scriptures we read often the Savior using the analogy of gathering His people as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings. It was especially powerful to me when reading in the Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 10: 1-6, as the Savior speaks to the people in the America’s after His resurrection - promising to gather His people as a hen gathers her chickens - to be nourished and protected.

Because the world is dark and stormy, I want to remind my children that if they cannot gather under my wings, they can always seek after our Savior. He loves you even more, and I will meet you there, under his wings, to be nourished and strengthened with His love.

Melting Pot

This past week I have been printing out papers and collateral pieces that I have written in preparation for graduation. I have to assemble them into a "learning portfolio" that is turned into the Communications Department in which they use for accreditation purposes.

When I read over past papers that I have written, I think to myself , "This is quite good!" For some reason it shocks me that I had such control over the words in conveying a message. At the conclusion of a paper I wrote on "Diversity in the Media," during my first semester back at school, I still feel satisfied at these thoughts:

“Many refer to our nation as a melting pot of different people and nationalities.  Yet, the reality is that the majority of people have not “melted” or assimilated into one flavor, they have retained their sense of identity.  With truthful representation and active contributions to media content, minorities can honorably continue to enrich our country’s legacy. 

Rather than become a melting pot, why not empty our pockets of color into the pot, so that we can easily identify each diverse color and people, and appreciate how it flavors our nation.”

Today, I am writing two more papers on diversity - on how the Internet impacts cultures and individual identity and the benefits of diversity in the Public Relations industry. After all I have read, my conclusion in that first research paper three years ago is still true. 

Winter Semester Classes

This semester I have four classes; Print Publishing, International Communications, Accounting 200 and my Communications Capstone class.

Print Publishing is turning out to be my fun class. I get to be creative with Adobe CS5 InDesign. I had to learn it last semester for my Communications Writing and Production class. But here we are learning the principles of good design. OK, I will be a little snotty here - I already know the principles of good design, I am just learning to articulate and fine tune them better with this program. My instructor is only 22 yrs. old, and it is hard to keep up with her in class some days. Thank goodness for free tutoring sessions during her office times. Well worth it!

Anyway, the final assignment is a book project. My sister has written some history on my parents, so I will be using that text and pictures to put together something for my family. I thought of doing my cookbook, but having to reformat 150+ pages seems a little daunting to me at this time. That will be a project for over the summer - when I am through with school :)

For my International Comms. class we read this book consisting of academic papers on various international communication issues, and also have to read the NY Times about world news for our weekly quizzes. We have a group presentation once a week on different world problems, such as Emergence of China. Threat or promise?; International abuse of women; Propaganda, etc.. My week is coming up soon. I was assigned, "Illegal Immigration. What to do?" My classmate is from Japan. We decided to narrow our discussion because it is huge! I spoke with our professor yesterday about what we were planning, and he informed me that this was the hottest topic. He likes robust discussions!

I do like numbers, and I do like them to add up and balance. However, remembering what name to give a journal entry does confuse me most times. I thought this class would be a piece of cake. Not so. I am doing a little better in my quizzes - now it is a matter of remembering all that I have learned for my next exam. However, I do remember what a FIFO and LIFO are.

Then there is my capstone class. I love going to class. There are some students who have had the same teacher for four of the required classes for PR. She is an incredible teacher, and I am fortunate to have had her for one of them. But I like the variety of these instructors different teaching stylses. I think it adds balance to what you are learning. The client we have, Singular Humanitarian Experience is interesting. My group has a good idea as to how we are going to form and present our campaign. We have just finished our research, and now we will be working hard to finish up the campaign and collateral pieces - I can already tell it is going to be crunch work before the end of March.

I am phasing out of my job on campus these next few weeks. After 3 months, they finally were able to hire someone. It has been a bit stressful this past month, feeling guilty that I wasn't in the lab when I was needed. But they knew it would be a hit-and-a-miss with my schedule. I started doing some PR work with an agency this semester, to get experience, but because of my campus job I haven't been able to give the time needed to do the work they have for me. It has been frustrating. Next week will be better.

The Carpenter

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building industry and live a more leisurely life with his wife, while enjoying his extended family.

He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then with a shock we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we'd do it much differently. But we cannot go back.

You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. "Life is a do-it-yourself project," someone has said. Your attitudes and the choices you make today, build the "house" you live in tomorrow. 

Build wisely!