I keep putting another post off until I have more than 2.5 seconds left to breathe, but things keep happening, and life never seems to slow down. I know, I know...it's never really going to, right?
...which is why this post is the way it is.
Initially I was going to blog about this incredibly fun past Memorial Day weekend. A bunch of us went down to St. George and had an absolute blast. Sunshine, hiking, water, red rocks...cabins, camelbak packs, memory foam mattresses, good food, and even better people. I wish life could always be like that. Some would argue if life was always like that it would seem mundane. Eh, maybe. I'd like a chance to prove that wrong, though. :)
(about halfway there)
The weekend was a blast. But the best part, really, was the hike. We went to Zion's and hiked Angel's Landing. I've never done the entire hike before, and it was beautiful! Okay, it was long, and hello, switchbacks. It was also really hot (note to self: next time, don't hike in JEANS. Duh.)
There were points along the way when I seriously considered the fact that I was either
a) a wuss, or
b) the people with me possessed hiking superpowers. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. :)
One of my friends tried to make us all feel better by saying she like to hike for leisure, not necessarily for the race/physical activity. Haha. Nice. It made me feel better for about 20 seconds and then I
still felt this inexplicable, and somewhat annoying drive to keep going. You know...can't have people waiting on me, right? Everyone keeps moving along the trail for the ultimate goal of reaching the finish...right? Stopping is only acceptable for short periods of time.
But then this past week, I read an article in the Ensign that made me think about this hike again, and in a different light. The article?
"Don't Be in a Hurry."It's from a devotional address given at BYU-Idaho in November 2007. I think I should have known about it way back then. I've been in a hurry my whole life, I think. In a hurry to grow up, in a hurry to get a job, in a hurry to know...anything, in a hurry to finish college, in a hurry to...
Seriously. Chillax, Dee.
That's about when I remembered another picture I took on this hike...I think it's the only one I took that wasn't of people. (Minus some of the giant rocks, but that's beside the point.)
We live in a world of fast food, rapid transit, instant messaging, and constant claims about how to get rich quicker, get fit faster, and succeed now. Despite the proliferation of supposed time-saving tools, we often feel pressed and stressed by the demands on our time.
“Our hurry to meet the relentless demands of the clock tears away at our inner peace.” - James E. Faust
"Undistracted...we trust the Lord to help us allocate our time and talent to their very best uses each day. As a result, we do more good and we make real progress." - Spencer W. Kimball
President Hinckley recalled that his father “never ceased growing” because he made time for “thinking, meditating, [and] pondering.”
This was the one moment I stopped before I got to the top for a reason other than to take advantage of the meager shade provided by a switchback.
This was particularly beautiful to me because of where it was; on the edge of the cliff. I had to stop to really appreciate it. The Indian Paintbrush was not my goal on the hike. But looking back, it is a perfect example of what I can see when I slow down, even just for a moment. “There seems to be little evidence,” Elder Richard L. Evans (1906–71) of the Quorum of the Twelve once said, “that the Creator of the universe was ever in a hurry. Everywhere, on this bounteous and beautiful earth … there is evidence of patient purpose and planning and working and waiting.”
There's nothing wrong with finishing something quickly.
But I also think there's maybe nothing wrong with finishing something...less quickly. The point is to finish the race...right? Not necessarily be the first one there?
(haha - I'm already thinking of friends who will disagree with me on this. Winning is everything, right?) Finish, and finish well. I'm all for that - but I think Mr. John C. Thomas, who gave the aforementioned BYU-Idaho devotional brought something really important to my attention.
Maybe it's because Heavenly Father seems to have this was of constantly reminding me that I need to slow down - sometimes literally - and remember Him along the way. I think it's when we take the time to remember Him, and remember Him first, that we really will win. We might make it to the top after throngs of people are already there. But isn't the Lord just as pleased with those who arrive last as he is with those who arrive first? I think so.
"Be still and know that I am God." - (Psalm 46:10/D&C 101:16)
It was exhilarating and totally rewarding to reach the top. Standing there, surveying all we'd climbed, and how small everything was below us...I was overcome by the beauty and incredible handiwork of a God who really took the time to create; and to do it well. The mountains, the rivers, the life surrounding me at the top: all of it took a lot of time. It's only fitting that it took a lot of my time to get to where I could really see how fantastic it
all really was.
Aaanyway...
