We had the missionaries for dinner, and I was thinking about what to teach on tomorrow. After listening to them talk, I felt inspired to teach on the blessings and advantages of living a simple life.
Our high priest group is a great group of men, ranging from young parents like me, all the way to grandfathers, and great-grandfathers. I think most of us try to do our best to lead our lives in a way where we can do our best. That said, our lives are full of obligations and roles. We take care of our children and teach the young and old. When one of them is not following the right path, we suffer their encounter with the consequences of their action. We are husbands who want to provide our wives a good friend, time and a the means to support our homes. We are employees, and want to provide our employers fair labor in exchange for our salary. Those are just some of the ways we spend our time, then there are hundreds of other items in our TO DO lists, including callings and responsibilities at church, service in the community, sports and recreational activities, education and training, physical maintenance of our homes, etcetera.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who was an airplane pilot, compares our navigation through modern life to a flight (“Of things that matter most”, Oct. 2010). Sometimes in life we go through turbulence, and it is bit disconcerting as our plane all of a sudden doesn’t feel so stable. Elder Uchtdorf explains that an experienced pilot know that there is an optimal speed at which you must enter turbulence. A lot of the time, that means reducing our speed. In life, we often need to do the same.
That may need to be counterintuitive, as what we usually do is push down the accelerator. If you are analytical like me, you are very tempted to write a long list with all items you need to do, prioritize them based on urgency, make them fit in the calendar and then start running.
But maybe we can be a bit wiser.
Here are 4 things that we can do to simplify our lives, or as Leonardo Da Vinci said “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”
Learn from nature.
My grandfather was a farmer. I was a city boy. He woke up at 4 or 5 AM every morning to milk his cows (earlier than I actually woke up when I went to visit him), worked hard during the day, and went early to bed. His example taught me the value of work. At the same time, he had a positive cool attitude to life. One time when I was in the fields helping him one evening, I remember a warm day, a sunset, and a breeze of moist air as it was about to rain. There was just something special about being out there that I did not experience in my city life.
I think that was a lesson, Christ himself shared explicitly with us (Matthew 6:28-34)
And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
I think Christ is not telling us not to worry at all about our work, or to be foolish and not plan for our future. I think he is telling us to take it easy, to work hard but, with a positive, faithful attitude – to put God first in our lives,
Focus on what matters most.
Elder Uchtdorf breaks these into: Our relationship with God, our relationship with our family, our relationship with our fellowman and our relationship with ourselves.
Are we in harmony with God? Do we have quality time with our family members?
How do you ensure you focus on what matters most? How can you get to have a quality conversation with your children? My kids are still young, so I don’t find it that complicated to get their attention as they generally don’t mind spending time with you. I imagine that as they age, and have more activities and “stuff going on” it becomes more challenging. For now, I enjoy putting them to sleep and talking with them for a few minutes before they go to bed. Also, I am trying to have a bit more 1:1 time with them as opposed to just spending time with both of them at the same time. That makes it easier to focus on them, and teach them at their level of comprehension.
Our wives need 1 on 1 time as well. That one is more challenging when you have small children, as that requires finding a baby-sitter. Going to the temple and going to the movies are some things we do as a couple when we get a baby sitter. That said, in retrospect, maybe doing something that allows more interaction may be better (i.e a dinner), or just going for a walk. Even grocery shopping can take a completely different perspective when there are no kids around. Either way, 1:1 time with your eternal companion is crucial.
Family home evening is a great time to spend with all the members of the family, share our testimonies, play together, and enjoy a more structured time when we can teach the members of the family. One thing I noticed is that in family home evening, children learn a lot because they get to participate in the teaching process.
Work? Work takes a significant amount of time. That’s how we provide for our families, that’s mostly how we contribute to the society we live in. We create services and products that benefit the human race. And we need to be honest in our dealing with our employer. Ever since the pioneers, hard work has permeated our religion. I was talking to the missionaries today, and remembered our schedule as missionaries. Complete focus work for 16 hours+ every day for 2 years, with no vacation. We are definitely taught to work hard, and we should! That said, we should do it with the right spirit – we should do it with love for our customers, we should do it because we serve others that way. Also, we should not forget our families and Heavenly Father. Sometimes we may need to choose between family and work advancement. Although, I think those should not be common positions to be in, if we work smart – they definitely come. Those decisions should be made with prayerful consideration, discussing with those involved (usually our wife and our children) and with an understanding of our goal, and the time of the commitment.
When we work, we should treat our fellow beings (coworkers) with respect, and appreciation. They are our brothers and sisters, even if they don’t agree with us or the principles we live by. The principles of compassion, charity, love, humility and kindness can be shared with anyone, and sometimes we don’t have to utter a word to put those principles to practice.
The gospel is simple
When I served in Houston, I had the chance to teach many with little formal education. That doesn’t mean that they were not educated. They definitely understood the principles of the gospel deep in their heart. I have heard prayers with deep humility with very simple words. I have seen very simple acts of kindness that touch others. Some of my friends in Houston live simple lives where they just do what is right, even if some of them hardly know how to read.
Sometimes we complicate things a bit. But we are asked to master the basic principles: Faith and Repentance. We are told to develop a relationship with our Heavenly Father, and His Son. We can learn all we want about History of the Church (and we will surely learn a lot there), or get into polemic debates to which we don’t have a full understanding – but that is not what will save us. The two basic principles are Faith and Repentance. They will lead us to the saving ordinance that we need.
And behold, he that is faithful shall be made ruler over many things.
And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived; for Satan is abroad in the land, and he goeth forth deceiving the nations—
Wherefore he that prayeth, whose spirit is contrite, the same is accepted of me if he obey mine ordinances.
(D&C 52: 13-15)
Let us follow the simple patterns of the Lord. Let’s be like the drip irrigation. That simple, they just drop a constant drop, but they are constant, and they are the source of water to beautiful fields. (http://lds.org/church/news/elder-david-a-bednar-teaches-about-the-spiritual-pattern-of-small-and-simple-things?lang=eng)
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