I really liked President Monson’s recent talk, Finding Joy in the Journey. President Monson talks about enjoying life and focusing on our relationships with the people around us, especially family:
Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, “They do not love that do not show their love.”
We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.
Send that note to the friend you’ve been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say “I love you” more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. . . .
Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family.
President Monson talks about people who have enjoyed life and shared that joy with friends and family. It’s a goal we can all aspire to, which is one reason why this is today’s Wednesday Conference Talk.
Kaimi, I love that, too.
I often find myself wistfully looking back at when life was less complicated. When we just got out of college and moved to Boca, with just two little girls (who had to be watched closely at the beach, but didn’t ever fight and didn’t even balk at their chores), we made a gazilion times more than we had in grad school, and we seemed at the beginning of a huge, amazing adventure, there was just a lot less going on to worry about.
One of my daughters has been digitizing all our old home movies this past week. And when I happen to be in the room and I’m actually on camera–instead of behind it–I’m surprised not only at how skinny and wrinkle-free I was (!), but how relaxed and soft-spoken. Wow, I was totally a cute, calm momma. I really dread to think how that contrasts to the mom my “little family” (the three in the younger half) knows.
Talks like this give me a kick in the backside I really need, to take a deep breath and enjoy each moment with these amazing people I get to live with. I tell them I love the all the time, but when I remember to ENJOY them, it is a much, much better situation.
This is one of the those talks where I noticed my husband giving me “the look”, like, “This talk is meant just for YOU”.