The Tongue of Angels

So, I was recently assigned to read Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk entitled The Tongue of Angels.
In reading it, I realized that this is something that I (and in my opinion everyone else in the world) can always be working on.

"The stroke of the whip maketh marks in the flesh: but the stroke of the tongue breaketh the bones." I don't think we can count the times someone has said something hurtful to us; nor can we erase the effect its had on us. I still remember in 7th grade TLC class when this boy (who will remain nameless, although I do remember his name) told me I was fat and had "kindergarten teacher hair." Now, know that I have forgiven this individual and have since moved on- but thinking back on it, it still stings.

How many times have I said something hurtful or mean, without even realizing it? This, to me, is a scary thought. I don't think anyone enjoys hurting peoples feelings or being blatantly mean, but often we are all insensitive without even realizing it. We have all heard the saying "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" countless times. Maybe its time to revisit this and think about what comes out of our mouths. I hope I'm not coming off as self righteous or like I'm attempting to passive-aggressively tell someone they've hurt my feelings. I'm really not. :)

Part two of the talk was my favorite, and also very applicable. "No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse." My default to many unpleasant or inconvenient situations is just this (complaining/whining/being negative), just ask my husband. We are so accustomed to luxury and convenience that when something slightly unpleasant comes our way its the end of the world. Then we make it worse by complaining. Somehow this doesn't make sense to me.

So! I am trying to counteract my negativity with a gratitude section in my journal. Every day I'm going to write about 3 (specific) things I am grateful for. I did this over the summer when I was away from home and constantly struggling with homesickness and it worked wonders. Here is my gratitude list for today:

1. I am grateful for making productive use of my time. Being in the library and crossing off my To Do list items like mad is such a great feeling. So is knowing I will have more free time tonight.

2. I am grateful for Reese's Pumpkins (like Reese's Eggs). It was a perfect "pre-test" pick-me-up. Chocolate has that effect on me. :)

3. I am grateful for my husband. He drove me to yoga last night even when he had a lot of homework to do. He always makes time for me and for us even when he's crazy busy. 

What are you grateful for?