Been a rough few days. Relapsed… in nearly every area I possibly could have–porn, media, sugar…etc.
Getting back on the wagon.
Slowly.
Starting to turn the corner.
Been wet and snowy. No cars Monday. One car yesterday (a 2008 Suburban that he wanted me to replace the oil pressure sensor on, and normally for the symptom, that’s the correct course of action for repair, so I just did what he asked)… but that didn’t fix the issue for him this time.
It was freezing temperatures and snowy, but I’d already pushed the job off twice, so I didn’t want to push it off any longer. Unfortunately, looks like he’s got bigger issues than just that oil pressure sensor. So I recommended he tow it to a shop so as not to risk ruining the engine.
Lots of wasted time and lots of wasted life these last few days. 😕
I did go to the DMV today, trying to sort out all the issues getting the Volkswagen beetle title situation taken care of. Been quite the pain. I bought the bond for it to do a bonded title this morning, only to realize that buying a bond is not insurance. If a previous owner comes forward and claims ownership of the vehicle, then they can take me to court, and I could be liable to pay the entire amount of the bond, which is 1.5 times the value of the vehicle.
😶
I got a bonded title once before, but it was for a truck that my hill brother sold to me and couldn’t find the title for.
So I basically have three options. I can sell this as a parts car to somebody and not deal with it anymore and just eat the money I’ve wasted on it. I could risk getting a bonded title, and then fixing the car and making a potentially handsome little profit, assuming no one comes to claim it in the next three years, which I’m guessing nobody would now that I have a fairly decent picture of the history behind the vehicle, or I could track down the last legal owner, ask them to get a duplicate title, and then ask them to sign it over to me, and then I can just register the vehicle as though I had just bought it straight from them.
Amazingly, I did actually manage to track down and get in touch with that person, and we’ve sent a few messages back and forth, but she hasn’t replied to my most recent messages, so maybe she just doesn’t want to be bothered.
In other news, one of my friends just had a similar experience to one that I had back in 2010. Butter and honey. Back in 2010, I had cut out all media out of my life other than gospel things. I had been doing something I called the music challenge, which was cutting out all music that wasn’t gospel music, and when that challenge came to an end (It lasted for two or three months, or something like that), I decided to listen to some of the music that I listened to before, specifically some Andrea bocelli.
I remember that I was driving from Utah County to Salt Lake County to a physical therapy appointment for my shoulder surgery that I had had. I remember turning on the Andrea bocelli album, and starting to listen to the first song, one that I loved. But as I listened to it, my feelings weren’t of excitement and enjoyment for the music, but more of feelings of reminiscence and memory. I was thinking to myself, oh yeah, I like that song.
I listened to the first song all the way through with those feelings. When the second song started, I was like oh yeah I remember that song too. That’s a good one… but I only got partially through it before I pushed the button to go to the next song, and then the next song and then next song, only listening to the openings of each.
I remember as I was listening to those songs that something felt like it was missing.
During the months that I had engaged in that music challenge, having already cut out all other media like TV and movies and whatnot, I had spent my time listening to either gospel hymns, or, and almost universally, I was just listening to gospel talks from LDS church leaders. I listened to a lot of Neil A Maxwell, Dallin h Oaks, Jeffrey R Holland, and Richard G. Scott.
Anyway, literally the moment that I switched from listening to Andrea bocelli back to I think it was a Neil a Maxwell talk, the feeling that was missing we came flooding back.
It was the spirit. 🥰
I loved the Andrea bocelli song, but it… just couldn’t fill me up like the talks from those leaders did.
It just couldn’t compare.
One of my friends in Utah just had that experience. He mentioned to me that he had bought a book to listen to, but when he started listening to it, he just couldn’t do it. He’d been filling his life with gospel things, and when you fill your life with gospel things, then when you have that spirit with you that fills your soul all the time, even things that are good and better just don’t fill you like the Spirit can.
That’s funny, even though I know that, when I’m struggling… discouraged, depressed, afraid… Instead of running to the things that fill my soul, I run to the things that I use as escapes, like the TV and movies.
Talk about counterproductive. 😅
Anyway, I am grateful when other people have experiences that mirror mine because then I have that extra little beautiful nugget of shared experience that’s so meaningful. 😊
Another one of my friends has also been doing really well in the spiritual growth category, having set aside an entire room in her house as her celestial room. I’ve probably mentioned that before, but it’s been a great help to her.
It’s really cool to see two of my best friends making really deep and meaningful strides in their personal spiritual development goals.
So though things have been challenging for me these last few days, at least my heart is happy to see the growth and progress my friends are enjoying in their spiritual journeys.
Hopefully, I’ll be back on the wagon here shortly and can partake of the same progress in my own journey in addition to finding joy seeing others make progress in their journeys.
Love to all.
Lift the world.
~ stephen
Lift the World 