Only the Mediocre Are Always At Their Best

I saw this quote today, and it struck a chord with me. I've been wanting to explain what it means to me to rise about mediocrity, as it is a bit ambiguous. Mediocrity leaves no room for improvement. It is comfortable being stagnant. It fears change, and growth. It would rather go without than pay the price to achieve something it desires. It is self-serving, and at the same time self-destructive. It stifles our potential as children of God, endowed with seeds of greatness, to become who we are, who we really are. 

The thing I am constantly trying to achieve, is the counsel given in D&C 88:119 

Organize yourselves, prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.

I used to think with my strong organization skills, that I had created a house of order. "A place for everything, and everything in it's place," type of order. While that is good, it would be better, or even best to have a home where every morning, meal time, and evening, we came as a family to the Lord in prayer. A proper order would attend to the spiritual, and remember our God, before anything else. Constant, firm and immovable. A home where the music is always uplifting, a home where Monday night is always reserved for learning together to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and strengthen our family relationships. A home where the scriptures are feasted upon daily, and children are taught how to apply the teachings in their lives, through parents who practice the same. 

While we may never completely rid ourselves of our weaknesses or imperfections in this life, rising about mediocrity means that we never quit trying. We may strengthen our weaknesses, but we still must strive to maintain our strengths, and seek for ways to grow stronger.  

A Glimpse

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror the other day. And I don't mean a glimpse of a thinner version of me, (though my double chin is in retreat.) I think a quick anecdote will best explain what I mean. 

A friend of mine wrote in her blog about living a more healthy life, and as she typed it out she saw 'Heal thy life." I've thought about that alot, and I've been thinking about the things in my life that need to be fixed for me to be healthier, and I've been making some of those changes - slowly, but surely.  

And I caught a glimpse of the mischievous sparkle that's been missing in my eyes for some time. I saw the flash of a spontaneous smile as it swept across my face. And with that smile came a rush of long forgotten feelings of ambition, determination, and confidence, and everything that empowers me to see my potential, and feel that it's within my reach.

As I've worked to heal my life, I've been less bogged down by the things that hide my potential from me, and I'm allowing my true self to emerge.

One Step Forward, Hope it Sticks...

I feel rather foolish creating this blog about becoming better and only having one post. I think that if it can be considered a vice, that inconsistency is mine. Everytime I take one step forward, I take two steps back. I was waiting to write here until I had something wise or impressive to say. I heard once that if you haven't been reading, you have nothing to say worth listening to. It seems as though since I determined to start improving myself, every force in the universe has been sent out to keep me down. It's given me very little that I felt was worth writing about. But I guess the joy is in the journey, not the destination. Although, I think I find the word 'frustration' a lot more accurate than 'joy' to describe this particular journey.

This is called 'rising' above mediocrity, so I might as well include you in the process; the struggles to rise above and overcome my setbacks, instead of getting there and telling you how it went.

Gotta Start Somewhere

I've been contemplating how to get this blog rolling. I feel like my mind is a bit stagnant after having children, and I'm not able to immerse myself in books like I used to do. But I am growing restless. I want to be learning and put what I learn into practice. I want to strengthen my weaknesses. I want to live my dreams. And the only thing stopping me is me. I got sucked back into thinking mediocre thoughts and getting comfortable not having to stretch myself and grow. But not growing, not struggling, not achieving or learning or dreaming is starting to get uncomfortable.

And it's time to do something about it.