Finding Joy in the Journey

I have the most wonderful visiting teacher in this ward right now, and she always brings me the most inspired and perfect messages. Tonight she visited me and shared President Monson's talk from October conference about finding joy in the journey of our lives. He shared this quote in his talk that I think it so important for everyone trying to live in a world that focuses so much on greed, possessions, fame, and fortune.


Said one well-known author: “Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend . . . when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.”

It's amazing that we can feel so poor monetarily at times, but always feel so incredibly and richly blessed because of the Church, and our families, and because we know why we're here. Living this life would be so difficult without the ability to view an imperfect world through the eternal, perfect, and true perspective of the gospel. Like President Monson says,

"I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now."