The Words of People Much Smarter than Me: Optimism

"We have every reason to be optimistic in this world. Tragedy is around, yes. Problems everywhere, yes. … You can’t, you don’t, build out of pessimism or cynicism. You look with optimism, work with faith, and things happen"

-Gordon B. Hinckley

Because of all the negativity this past week, my Sunday message today is about the importance of staying positive. Remember that the fight for freedom is a just cause. Remember that the task of raising a family is a divine one. When everything else seems to overwhelm you, remember that we have something the opposition does not. We are making the right choices for the right reasons.

Advice from the late Gordon B. Hinckley:

"I am asking that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we 'accentuate the positive.' I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort. I am not asking that all criticism be silenced. Growth comes of correction. Strength comes of repentance. Wise is the man who can acknowledge mistakes pointed out by others and change his course.

"What I am suggesting is that each of us turn from the negativism that so permeates our society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom we associate, that we speak of one another’s virtues more than we speak of one another’s faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears. When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my father would say: 'Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve.'"

Go Have a Picnic or Something, Seriously.

They’re slaughtering pigs around the world. Retailers are cashing in on the paranoia by selling everything from designer masks and emergency kits to fake vaccines and bogus advice. They’re closing down high school sports. Graduations are being cancelled and rescheduled. New York has cancelled Cinco de Mayo. Sixteen thousand American students are out of school. Hong Kong has quarantined a hotel and all of its guests. At my husband’s work, they are opening a second “emergency room” just for people who aren’t sick. AND Joe Biden won’t let his family ride the subway. (I’m guessing a private jet is okay, though?)

This is pretty serious. I would really love to write a serious post today, but I just don’t want to. Please see my posts from the previous week to truly understand why you shouldn’t be panicking. Today, we’re going to take a look at the horrible creature creating the paranoia.

Have a wonderful Saturday. Please go out and enjoy the day with your family. Staring at a computer is no way to live.

Another Miracle in Bethlehem

I found an amazing story that I would like to share with you. I know all anyone wants to talk about is the swine flu. So, at the end of today's post I'm going to share a video from Glenn Beck's television program. But right now, I am going to keep my promise to make this blog empowering and uplifting.

Two millennia ago, in a town called Bethlehem, Jesus Christ was born. Since that time (and before), the Middle East has been torn by hatred and war. The Christians attacked the Muslims, the Muslims and Jews tried to kill each other, and the world tried to eliminate the Jews. Everyone wanted to keep their own "Holy Land" through blood and hate.

The current Mayor of Bethlehem is a Christian. In preparation for the arrival of the Pope, he decided to have a gift made: a copy of the Gospel of Luke written in ornate Arabic script. For those of you that don't know, this is the traditional form in which the Qur'an is written. I had the opportunity to once visit a traveling museum exhibit that featured many of these gorgeous, hand-drawn scriptures.

Necessarily, then, the artist had to be a Muslim. Abu Saymeh, a 51-year-old man, was chosen for the project. He had never before read Christian scripture. During the process of making the book, however, he said, "I found that many of the things emphasized in Christianity exist in our religion."

I loved this story because it crosses so many lines in peace and understanding that were once considered impassible barriers. You can read the news story on it here. This is a small gesture in the face of what the Middle East continues to face today, but it shows that cooperation is possible. It gives me hope.

As promised, here's Glenn Beck...

Partison Politics and Beautiful Music

Politics are probably the most divisive thing on Earth. You have a whole group of people who love to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. Almost daily, we have calls for “bipartisanship,” This, of course, means the person who is not preaching bipartisanship is unreasonable and needs to change his/her perspective to match that of the person who wants cooperation.

I am someone who does not like conflict at all. When I have to fight with a credit card company, I end up lying awake at night with a sick feeling in my stomach, trying not to think about the disagreement. So, there are days when reading the news is tantamount to self-inflicted torture. I get discouraged with all the hatred that is being spewed out of the mouths of those who disagree with me. I get heartsick when I hear the same coming from those who share my views.

Unfortunately, much of modern society believes that the cause of freedom is heartless. This means that I am often called bigoted, judgmental, and ignorant. It’s just the opposite. True conservatives are the only ones that embrace the trite sayings like “reach for the stars,” “be all you can be,” and “live your dreams.” Whether or not you believe that these ideas can exist in the practical world, they are the essence of what I believe and the inspiration for my actions.

I believe that anyone can accomplish anything if they are taught their own worth. I believe that the world is what we make it and our success or failure is dependent on our own choices. I believe that love is best displayed through teaching the value of hard work, because that will bring happiness. I believe in freedom, in all its forms, for all people. And most importantly, I believe that charity is an act of love, and never an act of pity.

Sacrificing these beliefs in the name of bipartisanship will never produce the happiness that is used as a justification while arguing for this sacrifice. Very often, it’s far superior to have disagreement than to have submission. We don’t disagree to disagree, we disagree because we know what’s right.

Because we can't completely avoid the negativity and because we don't want to remain discouraged, I am sharing a video today that was sent to me by a friend. It's completely irrelevant to the discussion. But! It's beautiful. It can help wipe away the sadness that sometimes comes along with our battle. The next time life gets to you, take a break, close your eyes and listen to this:

Just for Fun...

I just watched this on Neil Boortz's website. Very funny! Enjoy!

"A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice."

A Loving Tribute to Bill Cosby


I will say that I love this man. It all started with his stand up comedy DVD called, "Bill Cosby, Himself" If you haven't seen this remarkable piece of comedy, you must. I have a distinct memory of my husband laying on the floor with his legs stuck up in the air, laughing so hard that the only sound coming out of him was a hilarious clicking noise. And I remember being struck at the anomaly. Here, we had a comedian who was so funny without being perverse or shocking. I immediately started the practice of buying the DVD for everyone I loved when their birthdays came around.

I also found much refreshing about his determination to push the black population away from blaming "the man" and claiming victim status. It is a message everyone, of every race and ethnicity, could benefit from. He has been a voice for personal responsibility in his activism and I respect him more than I can express. That being said, there are obviously matters on which we disagree. He spoke of what a great experience it was to vote for president Obama. He made the point that the president was a man who was educated, well spoken, and took care of his beautiful family. Certainly, I cannot argue with that. It is the fact that his policies enable people who are claiming victim status that bothers me. Still, whether or not our opinions differ, Mr. Cosby is one of the endangered species of educated entertainers and I love the man. So, today I want to share a few of my favorite Bill Cosby quotes:

On Victimhood:

“As you probably know, certain people tell us that we are picking on the poor. Many of those who accuse us are scholars and intellectuals, upset that we are not blaming everything on white people as they do. Well, blaming only the system keeps certain black people in the limelight, but it also keeps the black poor wallowing in victimhood.” (Cosby and Toussaint)

"It's not what they're doing to us. It's what we're not doing. 50 percent drop out. Look, we're raising our own ingrown immigrants. These people are fighting hard to be ignorant. There's no English being spoken, and they're walking and they're angry. Oh God, they're angry and they have pistols and they shoot and they do stupid things. And after they kill somebody, they don't have a plan. Just murder somebody. Boom. Over what? A pizza? And then run to the poor cousin's house."

On Parenting:

"I'm talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit. Where were you when he was two? Where were you when he was twelve? Where were you when he was eighteen, and how come you don't know he had a pistol?"

"50 percent drop out rate, I’m telling you, and people in jail, and women having children by five, six different men. Under what excuse, I want somebody to love me, and as soon as you have it, you forget to parent. Grandmother, mother, and great grandmother in the same room, raising children, and the child knows nothing about love or respect of any one of the three of them. All this child knows is “gimme, gimme, gimme.” These people want to buy the friendship of a child….and the child couldn’t care less. Those of us sitting out here who have gone on to some college or whatever we’ve done, we still fear our parents. And these people are not parenting. They’re buying things for the kid. $500 sneakers, for what? They won’t buy or spend $250 on Hooked on Phonics."

"Ladies and gentlemen, the lower economic and lower middle economic people are not holding their end in this deal. In the neighborhood that most of us grew up in, parenting is not going on. In the old days, you couldn’t hooky school because every drawn shade was an eye. And before your mother got off the bus and to the house, she knew exactly where you had gone, who had gone into the house, and where you got on whatever you had one and where you got it from. Parents don’t know that today."

"Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell the name will carry."

On Education:

"I’m looking at the junkiest room I’ve ever seen. It is a classroom in an American public school; it is public education in America today. A child did not make the room junky; generations of litterers – legislators, school board members, superintendents, principals, taxpayers, teachers and presidents did."

AND FINALLY...On Fatherhood:

"Only people as intelligent as we could fake such stupidity."


I love you, Bill. Thanks for being a great example of someone in the entertainment industry worth looking up to. And thank you for being a spokesperson for the freedom that comes with empowerment, education and a strong family.

To all the people I love:

I just wanted to tell you that I love you. I appreciate all you do and I am thankful to Heavenly Father for the chance I be had to be a part of your life. Of course, I loved you yesterday and I will love you tomorrow. But yesterday I was doing laundry and dishes and tomorrow I’ll be buying groceries. It’s not that I don’t want you to know that I love you every day. I am grateful to have a day set aside to remember and celebrate all the people I love.

I feel like I have been surrounded by a barrage of people telling me what a horrible, commercialized holiday Valentine’s Day is. Ironically, the most frequently cited argument for this contention is that we should show our love everyday, not just on holidays. It seems like the people who feel this way ought to love Valentine’s Day the most. After all, it’s the people who think about Jesus everyday that love to celebrate his birth at Christmas. I pray in gratitude every night for my beautiful children. That is why I am so glad they have a birthday once a year where I can set aside the everyday struggles and simply celebrate their births. I am disturbed by all the people who think being ornery and feeling pestered by a holiday meant to honor the people we love is a better expression of love then being excited at the opportunity to set aside the mundane. I was even more disturbed to open up foxnews.com this morning and find a story about why everyone hates this holiday. Valentine’s Day is not about flowers and chocolates. Think about it as an opportunity to reflect on all the people who wish they had someone to celebrate with, rather than feeling bothered that you’re expected to say “I love you.” Remember how lucky and blessed you are to have love. And remember, as always, that I love you.


Happy Valentine’s Day,


Amy

Just for Smiles

Okay, I promised to keep this blog positive. Because of that, I do try to ignore much of the political scene because it is so negative. As everyone knows by now, Tom Daschle recently withdrew his name after Obama nominated him as Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department. There have now been three cabinet nominees who have faced tough criticism because they were caught cheating on taxes. Tom Daschle is my favorite, though, because the whole situation is so hilarious. How did he cheat on his taxes? He didn't pay them on a limo and driver given to him by his employer. Why does that make me laugh so hard I can't see straight? Check out this real campaign ad from the 80's...



That's not all folks, 1998 Mr. Daschle gave a passionate speech on the senate floor during which he said, "Make no mistake, tax cheaters cheat us all, and the IRS should enforce our laws to the letter."

Okay, if that didn't brighten your day, then I don't know what's wrong with you. Politics can be fun!

Happiness Exists