The Power of Perspective

Have you ever noticed when you lose your perspective, you lose EVERYTHING! I say this because I have recently realized my ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE was askew. I had let every detail of my life boil down to the moment. You know when you you want to watch What Not to Wear instead of reading your scriptures. Or maybe, you rationalize not being a very good visiting teacher due to your overwhelming schedule (if you have time for TV, then you have time for VT).

I have found myself in this situation. I have tunnel vision at the moment. I'm trying to expand that view, but I realize how hard that can be.

I once owned a cassette tape (yep, I said it) titled, You Only Live Once, but if You Live Right Once is Enough (this quote will find a permanent spot on my blog for a reminder). The speaker put things in an eternal perspective. He started out adding up the time that we have waited to come to Earth. 1,000 years to us is 1 day to God. It took 7 days to create the Earth, so to us 7,000 years. We know that from the time of Adam to us was about 6,000 years. He explained how we waited "in-line" to come to Earth for 13,000 years. Then he calculated according to God's time. The average person lives 80 years. If we are lucky to live that long, we will have been away from our Heavenly Home for 2 hours! That's like one day of pre-school! It blew me away.

I share this because I realize my 2 hours are dwindling. I am going to be held accountable for what I did with my 2 hours. Time to get back to the important things, which is not What Not to Wear, although I really like that show. When we put things in the right perspective, it really makes you rethink things. I only have 2 hours, if I'm lucky!!!

Time's Tickin'

Comments

BrieAnn said…
I've been thinking about this a lot - not the exact time break down that you bring up, but wanting to make the most of every single second I have on this earth because it seems to be flying by faster than I'd like. I don't know why it's so "hard" to do the things I should...like read my scriptures instead of watch tv or hang out on the internet. I don't want to spend more time on basically meaningless stuff when I could be doing something really worthwhile.
July 11, 2008 at 9:12 PM
Audrey Taylor said…
Wow Larare, thank you for sharing these thoughts with us. Let me tell you why I love reading your blog. It helps me in my lifelong quest to become a better person. I really like what you write about because it's so uplifting. Even when you have trials, reading about how you think through them and work through them teaches ME how to do that. You are so personable and I'm so glad we are sister-in-laws. Love you!
Also, I made a typo with your name at the top. I decided to leave it because you ARE preciously rare.
July 11, 2008 at 10:17 PM
i said…
dito!! I loved what you said. I hope blogging and connecting with people counts as worthwhile!!! :0) I definitely feel fine when I am moderate. but how to do that all of the time?!? I'm glad to have good things to read. Great post!!!
July 11, 2008 at 10:34 PM
Rach said…
You are amazing-- I have to teach tomorrow in YW's and I love what you said and your quote. I hope you don't mind if I use it. Thanks for always lifting me up when I view your blog. Love ya!
July 12, 2008 at 2:33 PM
Darrell and Alissa said…
So true so true! I rationalize so many things saying I just don't have time- but when our internet was out I can't tell you how many times I sat at the computer out of habit- that's really sad! I waste somuch time on TV and computer instead of my kiddos- so I guess I better get off the computer huh?! Thanks for giving me perspective!
July 12, 2008 at 2:46 PM
Kristin said…
Wow! Great post! We all have something we do that keeps us from the "best" things in life. Next time I'm tempted to do one of those things and avoid something better, I'll remember this post! Thanks!
July 13, 2008 at 4:17 AM
The Bach 10 said…
Have you heard of the Bucket List. It is a movie with old guys with a list of things to do before they die. I have been thinking for years now of all the things I must do with my family before I get too old or sick or even die. I know it is to the point, but we all will someday. I don't want to be sad about all the things I missed out on. I think I need to make a new list of all the things I must do in this life before it is too late. time goes by faster and faster the older you get. Trust me. I am 39 and I don't feel 39. Maybe we should have a post of our "Bucket List" to keep us more in perspective. Or a list of the things that we do often that aren't that important, Really. You know the things that creep in to our week that we could do with out. Then put in the things we have on our "Bucket List" to fill in the time. Paul just bought me the DVD Time Out. Maybe we should let the kids play out back and we could watch it together. We need some uplifting at times and these type of speakers are great. I always miss the convention because I am pregnant or nursing. What do you think?
July 15, 2008 at 12:47 PM
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