Autumn is my favorite time of the year. Maybe it’s because I can identify as I’m in that part of life, but the cooling of temperatures somehow feels refreshing to me. The days grow shorter which means my running workout tends to be in the dark more and more (early morning or after dinner). Michelle and I are beginning the process of moving back to our home in Georgia. For us this will be a long process over some months. We’ll have to endure some separation. We’ve been through it many times over the years. Since our marriage we moved six times (this will be number seven) which has always involved some separation. My work has also taken me away from family often, occasionally for extended periods. This move feels more real now as when we arrived at the house in Georgia it was for all intents and purposes empty. We are taking advantage of the emptiness to update some wall colors and repair a thing or two.
Change is something we’ve grown accustomed to, but it is still challenging. When the future seems unsure to us we can fret. This is definitely where faith comes into play. Despite the challenge and fretting associated with change, it’s also brought some incredible growth for me personally, and for both Michelle and I as a family. I will leave comment on how the moves were for our children up to them to say. It all seems to me like a mixed bag, like everything else about life.
Some of my favorite cartoons over the years have been the Calvin and Hobbes series. Interestingly enough, as part of my post graduate studies I’ve learned that both of those names belong to well-known philosophers of science. Fitting that a recurring series within the cartoon has involved scenes where Calvin (a rebellious young boy) and Hobbes (a stuffed tiger that is alive in the eyes of Calvin) are streaming out of control down a deadly mountain (usually in a wagon or on a snow sled). As they careen toward certain destruction they nonchalantly discuss some philosophical idea or another, usually punctuated by a horrendous crash. There’s something to be said for this pattern, though generally I tend to philosophize post catastrophe as I try to make sense of whatever just happened. I won’t claim to succeed very often, if at all, in making sense of things. Like Calvin and Hobbes, I think it’s fair to say most of my personal catastrophes tend to be self-inflicted. I have plenty of scars to attest. I generally refer to my scars (seen and unseen) as ‘stupid marks’. I guess we all learn in our own way. I don’t know about you, but my learning process seems mistake-driven by and large. The mistakes are generally my own, though not always.
Moving offers an opportunity for clarity. Do I really need all these things? There is so much in the house that needs to just be tossed. I scratch my head and wonder why we have some of this stuff in the first place, and why we persist on holding on to much of it. There has been some therapeutic value in removing some of the clutter of life. If nothing else, clearing things out brings back a pleasant memory or two as we sift through the accumulation. How much clutter do we all carry in our inner person? Are there things we should just leave behind? Are there others we should cling to in order to stay grounded in testimony, in identity, in family?
Here is at least one example of something of inestimable value to cling to:
1 Nephi 8:24
And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.
The iron rod is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Search for those things of value to hold. Let go of those that do not add value to your life.
Change is something we’ve grown accustomed to, but it is still challenging. When the future seems unsure to us we can fret. This is definitely where faith comes into play. Despite the challenge and fretting associated with change, it’s also brought some incredible growth for me personally, and for both Michelle and I as a family. I will leave comment on how the moves were for our children up to them to say. It all seems to me like a mixed bag, like everything else about life.
Some of my favorite cartoons over the years have been the Calvin and Hobbes series. Interestingly enough, as part of my post graduate studies I’ve learned that both of those names belong to well-known philosophers of science. Fitting that a recurring series within the cartoon has involved scenes where Calvin (a rebellious young boy) and Hobbes (a stuffed tiger that is alive in the eyes of Calvin) are streaming out of control down a deadly mountain (usually in a wagon or on a snow sled). As they careen toward certain destruction they nonchalantly discuss some philosophical idea or another, usually punctuated by a horrendous crash. There’s something to be said for this pattern, though generally I tend to philosophize post catastrophe as I try to make sense of whatever just happened. I won’t claim to succeed very often, if at all, in making sense of things. Like Calvin and Hobbes, I think it’s fair to say most of my personal catastrophes tend to be self-inflicted. I have plenty of scars to attest. I generally refer to my scars (seen and unseen) as ‘stupid marks’. I guess we all learn in our own way. I don’t know about you, but my learning process seems mistake-driven by and large. The mistakes are generally my own, though not always.
Moving offers an opportunity for clarity. Do I really need all these things? There is so much in the house that needs to just be tossed. I scratch my head and wonder why we have some of this stuff in the first place, and why we persist on holding on to much of it. There has been some therapeutic value in removing some of the clutter of life. If nothing else, clearing things out brings back a pleasant memory or two as we sift through the accumulation. How much clutter do we all carry in our inner person? Are there things we should just leave behind? Are there others we should cling to in order to stay grounded in testimony, in identity, in family?
Here is at least one example of something of inestimable value to cling to:
1 Nephi 8:24
And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.
The iron rod is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Search for those things of value to hold. Let go of those that do not add value to your life.
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