Beautiful

It is a positive duty to resist melancholy, discontented thoughts and feelings--as much a duty as it is to pray. If we are heaven-bound, how can we go as a band of mourners, groaning and complaining all along the way to our Father's house?  { The Ministry of Healing, pg. 251.1} Over Christmas break, I was talking with my aunt, and after telling her about some of the perplexities of my life. She listened quietly, nodded, and then grabbed my arm intently, "Raquel, listen to me. No matter happens to you in life, I want you to promise me that you will seek joy."   I glanced at her and dropped my eyes. Her request was difficult.   I'm going to be honest; I've always had a hard time with joy. It's always seemed like an unreasonable state of ignorance and bliss, completely unattainable for one so undeserving as I.  ...   I guess that was a long and complicated way of saying that I never used to think that I could be happy. I didn't even th...

 Want to be a balanced individual?  I know you do; nobody wants to be imbalanced. However, in the youthful and momentous struggle to figure out what kind of person you are and if that matches up with who you want to be, it's all too hard to find balance.  If you are like me, you have experienced the pendulum swing from one opposite pole to the other, in terms of thought processes, lifestyle choices, reactions to life, and more. First you feel really strongly in favor of a belief, and then you turn around and do the complete opposite thing. You realize you are not being consistent, but you're not sure how to get there. How do you get to be a balanced person?  Personally, I have no idea how I'm coming across unless someone tells me. Because of that, I ask my friends to tell me what areas of my character I need to work on. But what if the feedback you are getting (whether wanted or unwanted) only confuses you?  Here's what I've decided, after m...