Measuring the cost
This week's readings were my favorite ones yet. President Monson gave great counsel to fill our minds with truth, service, and love. He said, "That which you selfishly keep, you lose; that which you willing share, you keep." He was referring to testimonies but this could also stand true for sharing our talents, time, and experiences. We are much better off when we take what we have and use it. We had a very popular institute teacher in our ward who taught Sunday school. When my dad was the bishop, he asked him if ever tired of teaching. His response was that teaching was a gift that he was given and the best way to express appreciation for that gift was to use it.
I found the article, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness fascinating. There is a difference between being happy, being satisfied, and being fulfilled. It is interesting that a large part of our happiness is genetic. It seems a little disheartening that people who are miserable right now will probably still be miserable when they have a better job, more money, and more stuff. There is good news though. Most people are pretty happy. If you doubt that, I love the advice to "compare down, not up". You could volunteer at a women's shelter or donate to a nonprofit organization to help put things into perspective. People can be happy with relatively little. The happier we are, the more satisfied we will become later in life. Being satisfied is more about our relationships with people than with money. It said that we should have 3 generations of friends and a lack of real friends can become a big struggle later in life.
The last article we read talked about our attitude towards money. Steven Gibson said, "Possessions of excess money often reveals what kind of person you are." I have two uncles who are very wealthy. They both own vacation homes. One of my uncles is so generous with his things. He even had a giant sign to hang at one of his cabins that says "Uncle Norms" It was his way of saying that he not only wants everyone to enjoy his success but that he gets joy when he can share it with others. If I was wealthy, I don't think that I would be so generous with my vacation homes. I would be worried about people breaking things or I might rather rent it out to make more money. I am positive that even if my uncle didn't have very much money, he would still be generous with what he did have. I want to be more like him. I don't want to wait until I have accumulated a certain amount of money before I am willing to do good things with it. You can have an attitude of gratitude and generosity no matter how little you have.
I always say that my best and worst quality is that I am frugal. Sometimes I get annoyed with my husband for spending too much money on stuff or I don't want to go do an activity with my family because it's going to cost too much money. I may be saving money but it may be costing me opportunities to strengthen relationships.
I found the article, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness fascinating. There is a difference between being happy, being satisfied, and being fulfilled. It is interesting that a large part of our happiness is genetic. It seems a little disheartening that people who are miserable right now will probably still be miserable when they have a better job, more money, and more stuff. There is good news though. Most people are pretty happy. If you doubt that, I love the advice to "compare down, not up". You could volunteer at a women's shelter or donate to a nonprofit organization to help put things into perspective. People can be happy with relatively little. The happier we are, the more satisfied we will become later in life. Being satisfied is more about our relationships with people than with money. It said that we should have 3 generations of friends and a lack of real friends can become a big struggle later in life.
The last article we read talked about our attitude towards money. Steven Gibson said, "Possessions of excess money often reveals what kind of person you are." I have two uncles who are very wealthy. They both own vacation homes. One of my uncles is so generous with his things. He even had a giant sign to hang at one of his cabins that says "Uncle Norms" It was his way of saying that he not only wants everyone to enjoy his success but that he gets joy when he can share it with others. If I was wealthy, I don't think that I would be so generous with my vacation homes. I would be worried about people breaking things or I might rather rent it out to make more money. I am positive that even if my uncle didn't have very much money, he would still be generous with what he did have. I want to be more like him. I don't want to wait until I have accumulated a certain amount of money before I am willing to do good things with it. You can have an attitude of gratitude and generosity no matter how little you have.
I always say that my best and worst quality is that I am frugal. Sometimes I get annoyed with my husband for spending too much money on stuff or I don't want to go do an activity with my family because it's going to cost too much money. I may be saving money but it may be costing me opportunities to strengthen relationships.
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