An unpublished post, written on May 23, 2011:
This past Saturday I attended a women's conference at the church for the women in the stake (Ann Arbor, Ypsi, Saline, Chelsea, Adrian, Howell, Brighton). The theme of the conference was strength in every season, symbolized by a tree. The keynote speaker, Polly Mallory, gave an amazing talk that was very helpful for me to hear. Then I attended a two-hour seminar on gratitude taught by my brother's new father-in-law, Bob Quinn. The seminar was also excellent. I learned so much during the conference.
It is always a bit of a disappointment to return home after an intellectual and/ or spiritual feast. While I am listening to the speakers and participating in the discussions, I feel so full of hope and energy and excitement to apply what I'm learning to my life. I want to hurry home and change the world! Then I walk in the front door and there are the children and the laundry and the dishes and my poor husband who has been alone with the children, laundry and dishes for 6+ hours. All of a sudden, I need a nap! Then I'm sort of plunged right back in to the chaos and semi-darkness of my daily life. The hope and light from the conference seem to vanish, a faint memory. I almost feel worse now, facing the juxtaposition of my hopes and my reality.
But this does not need to be a sad post! What can we do when we are filled with a desire to change, and then faced with the difficulties of our present reality? The answer that comes immediately to mind is this: pick one small thing to start with. The small thing that I did on Saturday after the conference was to apologize to Dan for hurting him the previous day, and this led to a long, good talk that brought us much closer together and inspired me with an even stronger desire to change.
4 comments:
I have felt that same way after education week. Reality is a bummer~~~ It's nice that you have come up with a positive twist:)
I always feel the same way!
Two things: first, have you heard One Little Corner by Jon Troast? I listen to that song every night as I get ready for bed. My current situation is quite sucky, and it makes me feel better to think about just taking one little thing at a time.
Second thing: read Change Anything. It is about how to harness all of the influencers in your life to make change possible. Will power isn't a trait, it is a skill and the book talks about how to develop it, along with the other influencers you need to be successful. That book has really helped me figure some things out that I hadn't realized before and helped me get a few things moving in the right direction.
I'm glad you found a way to turn it around. :-)
I endorse the "pick one small thing approach." It has been the salvation for my life and as the Lord notes, "By small and simple means are great things brought to pass." Love, Dad
QUESTION: Bob Quinn...Some of our best friends in grad. school at Davis, California were Bob and Ann Quinn. After completing their education, they went back to Big Sandy, Montana and we occasionally hear from them. Same person????
PS I enjoyed your article also :o)
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