Complacency...Swallowed Up

Lizzen's post is phenomenal. I really like the picture it paints. That is EXACTLY what I try guard against. Thanks for sharing that.

I explain...

It was also Lizzen who mentioned the Butterfly Effect...yes...NOT the Ashton Butt-cher movie. I think these simple interactions can change a life. It is the heartfelt interaction with another human that lights my soul. It is this experience that I long for. It is the feeling of connection on the most basic, human, raw level that absolutely enthrals me.

I explain further...

I am NOT boasting...I want to show you what I am talking about. These are all true stories...and recent.

1) there is a very old woman who comes into the bank. She shakes uncontrollably. She has a hard time signing her name on the check she is writing. She is delirious to a degree and always talks about her grandson who was killed who has my same name. She came in the other day and I was absolutely oversome with compassion. I noticed her hair looked different. I told her she looked very nice and asked her if she had her hair done. She gave me all the details about her perm she had just got and the little trim the stylist gave her. Her face was alight with excitement. She was so gracious that I had noticed. She had carted her shopping basket all the way to my window and had a hard time turning it around. I took it for her and wheeled it out towards the aisle. I told her I hoped she would have a good day. Is that the most simple experience? I will never forget it for some reason...

2) I work with a girl who is very pretty. She has no self esteem. I tell her that she doesn't need to listen to society's rhetoric on beauty. I tell her that the men she sees are dogs if they treat her in such a way. I feel really bad for her. She has been dropped on her head one to many times...so to speak. She has been damaged by the crushing weight of a heartless society's expectations. I always compliment her. I always comment on her wardrobe and let her know she looks nice. I let her know she is a nice person and she is fun to be around. Whether or not a married man's opinion is worth much to her remains to be seen. I feel like she responds though. She mentioned that she missed me when I had been away for the illness I had. She is very kind and I hope that my meager offerings of encouragement would give her the strength she needs to hold her head high against a tide of unreasonable expectations.

3) I met Tim (not his real name---but to respect him...) in a physics lab last year. We became friends as he asked me continually about my journey into the medical field. He was also interested in being a physician. He is a year behind me. We kept in touch and he emailed me about some of the things he needed help with in his studies and applications. We became close friends. he has been homeless. He loves to read Karl Marx. He is passionate about bench research and has worked extensively on epilepsy in rats. He is a genuine kid with a desire to make a difference in the world. He is easily one of the most likeable guys I have ever met. he called me this last week for a Priesthood blessing. he is quite inactive in the church. I was flattered. He felt strongly that I should give this blessing to him. I felt like I did on the mission. I felt transparent to the divine powers that dominate those situations. I felt that God Himself knew what I was doing and approved. It is a feeling like none I have felt outside of that situation. We forged a bond there in our tiny front room. I hope that we can keep in touch for a long time. I think about the possibility of building a practice with someone like Tim. I have an immense amount of respect for him. I have tried to make heartfelt gestures to let him know I care. I gave him a cell phone because his didn't work that well. I amde him a mix f songs to study to for the MCAT. (these are insignificant things, I know, but I wanted to do something at least.)

I think a lot about Jesus. He is a remarkable icon in the history of the world. But more importantly...He breathes meaning into everything we do. He is the compass that guides our way. Who did he associate with? Was it the elite..the privileged...the competent? No...it was often those who could not care for themselves...those who had problems that were devouring them whole. I am not even on the same map as Jesus Christ. He is infinitely...and then some more...my superior. Yet I find purpose in His footsteps.

Jesus Christ's name is used in many different ways. People use it when they slam their finger in the door. People curse His name when life deals them a tough blow. People thank Him for good fortune. Televangelists extract money from their congregations using His name and His perfect life. His example guides the lives of millions of people. The key is to find a personal connection with Him.

Lizzen's post shows a definite gap between what we SHOULD do what we really do. I think the only way to even start to bridge this gap is to find out what He has to offer. His life is quoted by millions of people every day. His words are scrawled on cathedral walls and bathroom stalls. But what does He have for us individually? That is the quest of life. Wade through the clichés....the rhetoric...the commercial Christianity...the worn out words of the scriptures...and figure out how it all applies to us. What are we going to do with these important ideas?!?!?

My examples of personal efforts mentioned above are not examples of much. They are the glimmer of hope in a life full of imperfection. I share them to show that I am trying. I really believe in charity...in all its forms. I want to "do charity" for a living.

Read the first 12 verses...

http://scriptures.lds.org/john/8