(written on the 7th)
Today was in some ways a repeat of yesterday, though there were some brighter spots. I
I listened to all the General Conference talks from both days of Conference today, with the exception of I think a few that I remembered I’d listened to yesterday, so there was some good uplifting stuff.
I listened to a lot of it in my van on the homefront, and then I went over to Cascade Springs and sat in my van and listened to the rest of it there.
There were some really beautiful and powerful messages.
Came back when Heather invited me for dinner, and I hung out with her and Hans for a bit.
Better today than yesterday. Still struggling significantly.
Gratitude to My Father:
- Grateful to be able to listen to/watch Conference.
- Grateful for those who made it possible to listen/watch to things in double speed and faster. Having spent so much time listening to YouTube videos at generally between 2x and 3x speed, it can be challenging to hold attention to slower inputs. 😅
- I’m grateful to be able to have Cascade Springs nearby. It’s really the only place I have to get away, so to speak.
Still trying. Cory sent me a message that got me to laugh a little bit today. In chatting back and forth about my struggles, he mentioned that he was a little surprised that I was surprised at the challenges that I face given that I keep asking God for them over and over and over and over again.
He’s totally right. I do ask to be challenged to my absolute limits, and that’s what I’m getting.
It’s breaking me, but I know I need to be broken even more to become the person I want to become.
Bring it on. 😅
In other news, I took another Lift The World step today, reaching out to someone who, on the face of it would seem to be the epitome of who I should be fighting against, but having the experiences I’ve had of most people everywhere just being good people, with most people just trying to do good and simply viewing things differently than I do, that enables me to reach out to this person who is often vilified by others and to approach this person with an underlying assumption that he is a good person trying to do what he believes is right and good.
I don’t like to ascribe bad motives to people because I just don’t think I see them very often. I think it’s much more common that I see people do things that I disagree with, even sometimes things that I think are inspired by evil, but done from an intent to do good.
That thought reminds me of this quote from Elder Neal a Maxwell:
I have found, too, that it is better to trust and sometimes be disappointed than to be forever mistrusting and be right occasionally.
I know this approach and perspective leaves me open to being taken advantage of by those who truly do seek to harm, but I’d rather be hurt occasionally then mistrust everyone at the outset.
I still believe that most people are just good people, even those who vehemently disagree with my perspectives.
Oh, and I was actually pretty shocked when the person I reached out to, one who has a very large platform and is quite famous, actually replied to me.
Hopefully, we can build bridges. 🙏
Lift The World.
~ stephen
Lift the World 