Talented part 2

     A flurry of illnesses seemed to hit me all at once over the last couple of weeks.

     My mind seemed like it was on the brink of snapping into two.  Missionary stress is a normal thing, but pile it with recent tragedies, a lack of faith, bottles and bottles of medicine, and an inability to socialize with other missionaries and members and you have yourself... me!

     Life was hard.  Life is still hard.  Over these last couple of days, I have been trying to find myself.  It isn't easy.  No one said it'd be.  These two years that the Church has given me has been a time of the deepest reflection in both spirit and in self.

     Who am I?  What am I doing here?  Where am I going after I'm done here?

     It seems like I need to be teaching myself what the Church is teaching...
    
     Anywho, for the LONGEST time, I saw myself as someone sad-- someone unwilling to change and to conform with society-- in a nutshell, a teenager... except, I'm nineteen years old.  Not only that, I'm a comparer.  More about that will be explained.

     The way a majority of us think is that there are a ton of people who have life handed to them-- you cannot perceive a single enemy that they might have, they're loved by their still-together parents, they have many a friend to rely on, they're fit, they're liked by all the grown-ups, and they're sitting comfortably in their two-story home with a white picket fence and a beagle always liking him or her hello.  It can seem a little hard comparing oneself to someone like that.

     Happy people are fine with everything-- faith comes easy for them due to the minimal effort they have to exert.  They grew up well and were associated with good people all their lives.  As for the downtrodden and morose, everything seems irrationally difficult-- every little task seems impossible.

     Now, happy people struggle too, but they can contain their frustrations and exhibit a face conveying quite a scare of a change-- a face that really isn't theirs, but of a happy person.  Us, people who keep to themselves, cannot but to exhibit how we genuinely feel-- honest souls.  Those acting sad probably have inside them an even greater sadness they wouldn't share with people they don't trust-- that's not very many people in these people's eyes.

     These quiet ones have minds filled with so much resentment, lack of self-esteem, and disillusion that they cannot function properly without outside help.  There'll be denial-- unwillingness for treatment.  Normal is boring.  Normal is mundane.  Normal-- is too normal.

     Sounds familiar?  You or someone you know?  The thing is, we who struggle with life daily-- are meant for greater growth.  It's just that there are a bunch of obstacles in our way that impedes our progress.  A ton of people were like this-- Emma Smith, for one.  Then, there were the transcendentalists and also the "lost generation."  We're in good company.

     The struggle in finding ourselves and for spiritual folks, finding a testimony of what seems to be the truth, is an ongoing battle.  I can recount when my faith has shaken quite a bit-- yet, there was something that sustained me from then till now.

     Couple of pointers I would like to give to those struggling with such is this:

• Remember why you're doing what you're doing-- is it for a worthy cause?  Will it aim to help both yourself and your peers?
• Motivation-- think about what drives you to do what you're doing.  Make sure it's firm.
• Patience-- it's always mentioned, but it's very much needed to progress in the field that you're working in.
• Know who you are.  You have infinite potential and you can do whatever you set your mind to do... just don't procrastinate for too long.
• Goals!  Set goals and make plans.  That way, your future can be within your grasp.

     As a missionary, it's definitely helped me do all these things, even if it was the harder route.  It's extremely gratifying, most of all, to know that whatever I'm doing, I do have the support of so many people.  Remember who you are.  Remember who you are.  Remember who you are.

Echoing Joyeous Strains

     With every Christmastime comes a special spirit that can soften even the stiffest of hearts.

     It was a rough mission for me, dealing with a lot of disillusionment, pain, and instability-- a hot potato without a hand to clasp it.  Nobody wanted me; not a soul wanted to hear what he had to say.  Abandoned and ready to head back to a world unforgiving of surrender, he contemplated, all the months long-- to paraphrase a somewhat obscure song: it was time for him to enter the porridge-- nothing but him and his secrets he was keeping.  It wasn't a pretty time-- negativity had swarmed my mind, taking over my soul.

     A frigid mid-December evening fast approached the church building.  With it were the people entering in droves.  The congregation in the chapel was filled to capacity-- the audience, ready; the singers, just about.

     The first of the choirs come out onto the pulpit and display their marvelous renditions of Christmas carols and hymns.  Natalie Sleeth.  Linda Spevacek.  John Rutter.  Each composer's vocal praises-- the singers' renditions-- were heard by all in the audience. 

     And then, we come up.  The joint-choir of both our congregation and another's take the chairs in front.  The conductor taps her middle finger and her thumb three times, raises her hands high into the heavens, and brings them down with a like force.  Our mouths open and the "good news" starts pouring out of the auditorium.  The baptist choir-esque groove had snuck in a smile among both singers and listeners alike.  Then came Will Todd's "My Lord Has Come."  The atmosphere suddenly dropped-- it turned into a silent reverence.  The song started out in a quiet, elongated ooo-ing by the men and then the melody by the women.

     "His love will cradle me.  His love will cherish me."

     The burst of emphasis had given light to the song's zenith.  The silent search of the baby Jesus culminated with the assurance that the searchers have indeed come for what they were looking for-- a transcending love giving strength and joy among all who have received this glad tiding.

     The mmm's cradle the song slowly into its conclusion.  A brief silence had come over the people.  That familiar presence-- how splendid it was!  The program finished with a combined vocal symphony of "He Is Born."  It was a moment where there was raw joy emanating in the air-- the audience and singer alike, both lifted ten feet off the ground.

     It saved my life.

     The power of music is real.  It has a way of filling in the minute cracks in the heart that break us down-- filling it so that we can be full again; in spirit and in body.  It can soften even the stiffest of hearts.  The singing and praising of the denizens of a small, imaginary town inflated the heart of the greenest, most notorious Christmas curmudgeon to a size even he couldn't handle!  Music is powerful.  It influences.  It evokes in the mind, vivid pictures of love, beauty, and hope toward all within earshot of the angelic voices.  There's something about it that brings comfort and hope-- knowledge from on high that everything's going to be okay.

     This Christmas, take the time out to organize a small (motley) choir group and go out caroling!   The power of the spoken word can do wonders on the human soul.  Lift someone in need.  Seriously.

Ten Things I'm Grateful For

"Live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which God doth bestow upon you" (Alma 34:38).

     As a Native American prophet Amulek (am-you-lick) put it, we should do exactly that.  It not only brings satisfaction to one's life, but it also brings optimism, happiness, better relationships, better mood, better relationships with others, and a feeling of worth.

     The exclusively American rendition of the Autumn Thanksgiving holiday is just right around the corner!  There are a few things I want to put down that I know I'm blessed to have!  I'm pretty sure, though, most people have many, MANY things that they're thankful for too-- feel free to contribute!  Of course, I won't be writing down everything I'm grateful for here, but I'll put down ten of the most important things of which I am thankful for.

1) Family - When all may abandon me, when all may betray me, and when all may simply vanish from my hands that has molded such bonds, there will stand my mother and father-- supporting me in whatever course of action I take.  They are my parents-- they have an unconditional love for me no matter how hard I may think that they plot my misery.  This fact wasn't quite acknowledged until I started my mission.  My parents have sacrificed a great deal to raise me to where I am now.  Remember that you can go to your own parents with any problem you have and they will, in all their power and wisdom, help you out.  You are their biggest priority.

2) Friends - The people whom I have developed such fond memories with are perhaps one of the biggest blessings God has bestowed unto me.  These people have molded me to be the person I am today and without their influence, I don't know what I would have become.  They promoted love and charity.  They taught me more about the world than any institution of learning would by itself.

You have the whole world on your shoulders

3) Trials - This isn't the most obvious thing to be grateful for, but it certainly has been for me.  Although challenges and adversity aren't the funnest things to experience, one thing I've learned on my mission is that looking back on it, I was able to learn so much out of it.  Life challenges and struggles have definitely made me look at how good it can be with it; it puts a completely new pair of glasses to view life in.  Arguments with parents, fights with miss
ionary companions, deaths of loved ones, regret, remorse, sorrow, sin, pains, pressures, and more, they've all shaped me to be who I am and will be.  "All these things will give thee experience" (D&C 122:7).

4) Haters - Seriously, without them, we wouldn't be as good as we are now.  They made us.  They shaped us.  Their acerbic tongues and their agonizing attitudes have given us a better way to cope and overcome such people. 

We aren't!

5) Identity - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that we were all spirit children of God and that we were sent here to grow and develop in maturity and wisdom so that we may be better prepared to meet our Father in Heaven.  In doing so, we are all different, woven from different threads and experiences.  I believe in that.  I am thankful for being different from the person next to me.  The fact that I am who I make myself to be is probably the best thing that God has given me.  I can exercise my life and put it to use here on this Earth at this time.  The introverted, crazy kid that I am could never have been without the hand of God, giving it to me.

Seasonal

6) Literature - Without books, culture would have been disseminated rather slowly.  Through these media, we are able to look into what people thought about back in the day and what people did back in the day.  Without literature, we would never have understood the depth of religion.  Church doctrine would have been more ambiguous than ever.  We wouldn't even have known the nature of God!  Without the Bible and the Book of Mormon, I don't even believe that Christianity would stand as it does today.  Hindus wouldn't have been without the Bhagavad Gita; Moslems would still be descendants of Quraysh without the Qu'ran; and the Jews would not have had the law to govern themselves without the Torah.  Thank you Oscar Wilde, Francois Arouet, Roald Dahl, and countless others, too, for enlightening our minds to the wonders of a differing perception of the world.

Lots of learning.

7) Teachers - They built the foundation of my-- and our-- intellectuality.  They shaped the unorganized mass in our heads and molded them to become the bright, shiny objects they are now.  Before parents, these are the people you see, hear, and learn from the most during your childhood years and even beyond to tertiary education. Without them, 74+26 wouldn't have an answer; a lizard wouldn't be a reptile; oxygen wouldn't be breathable; The Civil War wouldn't have existed; and "synecdoche" would have been some sort of potty language.

Dear...

8) Correspondence - Letters.  These have been my life essence as a missionary.  More than any other material thing on Earth, I have loved and appreciated these things.  They're just like words spoken by another human soul-- just written down on paper.

Bittersweet.

9) Missionaries - These people-- man, I have a lot to say about these people.  These people ages 18-twenty-something go out to preach the gospel in whatever condition they may be in, mature or otherwise.  They each have sacrificed something and have to deal with that sacrifice for a period of 18-24 months.  Sometimes, many don't take it well, especially if you have to work alongside with one.  Each one of these people make you think about your own self and your own dedication to the cause in which you're in.  Being with them emulates marriage.  Sometimes raising a child.  It's a wonderful, enriching experience where so much can be learned and applied in the real world.

Cathedral Rock

10) The Eye Can See -  There's just so much about the world around us.  Natural beauty can make the eyes a bit sore; the elegance and the exquisiteness is a bit much to behold.  To be in it is to find greater peace than anything else you can do by yourself.  Every now and then, I go to this place past the I-17 called Cococino National Park.  Wandering its Ponderosa trails, it definitely makes you realize how awesome nature is and how much you can learn and unwind from it.  There's also the Occoquan Bayside, Silverado, Zion, Shenandoah, and a ton of other places just perfect to get away from everything!

Pandemic!

     With the whole ebola spiele still going strong, many have become paranoid even at the slightest of coughs and minimal of sneezes.  As missionaries aren't supposed to keep up with "worldly media," I'm rather left in the dark about what seems to be unfolding before the world.  However, here's a test for those who talk to missionaries a lot: ask a missionary if he (or she) knows any other location other than Africa where Ebola has been documented.  Chances are, they're probably not very obedient.

Beware, beware!

     Anywho, as we talk about disease and illnesses, I wanted to bring up chicken pox.  Back in the day, a parent of a child would arrange sleepovers with that child's friends, one having had the chicken pox recently.  This was a short-sighted yet somewhat effective measure to "innoculate" chicken pox to the children so they don't run the risk of catching shingles as adults.  So as the children sleeps over at the home of the afflicted child, they are exposed to the germs (viruses) and poor sanitation of that said child.  Lo and behold, all the children now have chicken pox!


     We can see here an interesting parallel with our own spirituality, too.  No matter who you are, the world is filled with filth and infection that'll give you many a malady.  Unlike chicken pox or even ebola, spiritual diseases can afflict and maim even the most protected and sheltered one of us.  If we're exposed to too much spiritual disease, we may end up where no oatmeal baths and chicken noodle soup can cure!  We are at risk of catching this infectious thing wherever we are-- it's up to us to protect ourselves from such.

     Now you wonder, what would be a spiritual chicken pox?  Take a moment to think about that-- what is out there that can hinder our ability to find peace, impair our judgement, and otherwise backward society person by person?  Hopefully by now, your noggin is cranking a few gears.  If we're surrounded and exposed and put in to these toxic situations, objects, and what say you, how do you think we can be the good Christians/Jews/Buddhists we could possibly be?

     It ain't happening.

Better safe than sorry

     Diseased carriers are are everywhere-- they can come in the forms of pornography, narcotic substances, vicious words, peer pressure, and many, many more.  Exposure to even the slightest of these things can pose a great risk to our spiritual health, jeopardizing the health that we've been endowed with.  It's a miserable experience being ensnared in those nets and escape is no easy task.  Although we can come out of these ordeals, like many viral and bacterial diseases of now, it leaves a bit of itself that could have been avoided.  Sooooooo, get vaccinated!  Practice proper spiritual hygiene!  Do all you can to avoid such things so that you aren't left to pain and suffering!  Don't hang out with someone infected too-- you might catch it!

Bread of Life part 2

     This is a two-part post with part one shown earlier: PART 1

     Okay, now, the question I shall prose is this:

     How was there that much bread left over, but what did they do with the remaining bread?  In tandem, what did we do with the multiplied blessings we received?  While we succeed in the perilous endeavors we commit to with divine intervention, what's important is "what do we do with the newly acquired skill/material/characteristic?"

Link

     It isn't exactly made clear what Jesus and His apostles did with the bountiful amount of remaining bread, but it can be reasonably said that they didn't use it for selfish reasons.  While we can have an overflow of substance-- an overflow of blessings-- we can use it for a variety of means to bless others even more abundantly.  This idea is still a little new to me, so I'm still thinking about what I could do with an abundance of blessings.  Then, a thought popped up--

Spiritual Investment!

     Like successful businesspeople, when they gain a profit, they don't hoard a whole lot of it to themselves.  Instead, they invest in it-- preferably high interest-yielding, lowest-risk deposits.  In order to make more money, they have to spend it on stuff like that.  Some time later, they get an even bigger return and then the process starts all over again.  If we have blessings in such an amount that we're constantly thanking the Lord and not having any other time to repent or ask for help, that's a sign you need to put your blessings in a financial portfolio.

     Go volunteer in a charitable organization!  Go say that you're happy to see a lone face!  Go feed someone hungry!  Go clothe someone naked!  The world is out there to share what you have that has blessed you and your life.  In an eternal perspective, when Jesus said to gather up "treasures in heaven," to go about doing good is a surefire way to do so (Matthew 6:20).  As the Master Teacher Himself, He was endowed with such powers that He had gone about to share it with His fellow men.

     Whatever God has blessed us with, if we share it, we shall see our faith grow.  For Jesus said, "for whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25).

Bread of Life part 1

     Reading the Bible like I normally do, I come across a very well-known miracle performed by Jesus  and His apostles.  Lately, after a comment made by a church member, it got me thinking that like most of the things that Jesus taught, His actions are also multifaceted.  So, of two I will explain-- as an inexperienced gospel learner, it has blew my mind.  Here are the references:

  Matthew 14:14-21

Mark 6:31-44

Luke 9:11-17

John 6:3-15

Link

     Setting: Jesus wanted some privacy with His apostles after His cousin was decapitated.  He sails away to a rather desolate environment, wanting to seek solace from the world.  Unbeknownst (probably not), there are a many people who meet Him on the shore of the desert.  Jesus sees that they don't have anyone else to turn to, He begins teaching them of the doctrines of heaven and healing the sick among them.  As the day comes to a close, Jesus feels sorry for these followers and gathers up what food Him and His followers have and distribute it among all.  All the people are full and all part ways.  The apostles are left with twelve baskets full of bread crumbs.

     Imagine.  Personify and generalize bread.  It's a substance that we cannot live without-- Jesus always makes reference to it as a foodstuffs that sustains us and our health (John 6:35).

Link

     As Jesus asks His disciples to feed the crowd-- mind you, there were five thousand men there plus women and kids-- the disciples bring out what they have, a tad unsure if the amount of food they had was enough.  Comparatively, it's like feeding a professional football team with a can of spam.  Even so, they give Jesus the five loaves and the fishes.

     This is where the faith steps in.

     The apostles had faith midst the incredulity of the said task, so they gave Jesus what they had.  Jesus blessed the bounty and fed it among five thousand plus people.  Jesus had made up the difference and all were fed well, with more left over than they had!

     This is synonymous with the blessings that we receive.  If we don't have enough <insert fodder for endeavors here> to succeed, we can do all that we possibly can and let God make up the rest.  Of course, this requires effort on our part, but if we put it in, like the bread, God can give us the proper strength to overcome any obstacle-- even to the point of overflowing.

"I always relied on the kindness of strangers"

Best place in the world.

 The title is a Tennessee Williams reference.  I thought it was suiting.

      Some time ago, I was standing in line to check out my usual grocery at a west-coast store called "Sprouts."  This place is kind of like a Trader Joe's but with more variety.  Anywho, while I was there, I was talking to the cashier-- she was apparently a little perturbed by some news with her family or something-- I don't remember the details, but in short, she was just unhappy.  I exchange my twenty-dollar-bill for some change and a receipt and begin walking toward the automatic doors.  I then proceed to tell this distraught cashier tell her that "I hoped her day goes better" over my usual "have a good day."

     There was a confused look in her face-- like it was the first time she'd ever hear those words before!

     I left that Sprouts and I still keep thinking about that conversation.  It wasn't because she was going through that time; nor was it for the amount of groceries I got for twenty bucks [NOT an endorsement for the store]!  Rather, I still keep thinking about why she made the face that she did to me!

     I'm Korean and I was born in the US.  I served in the Korean program for most of my mission, yet I felt some small disconnect with Caucasians at that moment-- do white people appreciate me saying such things?

     So while kind of being haunted by that thought, I realized some important things about life.  It doesn't matter who you are, if you know you're being cared about by other [random] people, you feel a lot better about yourself.

     Except for me.  I'm just weird.

     However, the main point is that probably 99% of the world is struggling right now.  This very instant.  In one form or another.  Even if you're not a missionary (or if you are, better on ya!), you can pitch in your benefit toward society with even just a simple act of kindness-- the easiest and most effective of them all is that of listening.

     Do it with your ears.

     Do it with your mouth.

     Do it with your hands.

     Do it with your eyes.

     There's a ton of different ways to do it, but to make a person feel loved is absolutely paramount in just about any situation where you're engaged with someone else in an intercourse of words.

     Honestly, I don't know what that cashier would have thought about my words, but I know that she probably wasn't made even more aggravated.  So, play your part!  You'll get brownie points in heaven and perhaps even a small act of kindness may just turn into a giant snowball that'll crush all evil in its path, being one step closer to the utopia that we may know heaven to be-- on Earth!

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up." -1 Corinthians 13:4

Manly Men

     I despise arm wrestling with a burning passion.  In very few instances, I do come on top, but for a great majority of the time, the result isn't too exciting.  While engaging in this so-called epitome of masculinity, I lock my hands with the opponent's hands.  The conflict starts off steady, but in less than a couple of seconds, my hand is inches from hitting the table.  The funny thing is, I stay in this "verge of losing position" for a great long time.  For whatever inexplicable reason, the opponent cannot simply just finish me off.  I have to be extremely exhausted and ready to just give up for me to completely lose.  When I do finally lose, I don't really see it as a loss, because I put in everything I have to stay afloat and give that hand a fighting chance to possibly win.  I see it as a fact that I've persevered; I've fought a good fight.

Life is tough.

     I thought to myself in such an instance.  Isn't this a spiritual thing too?  In a way, I believe it is.  The adversary has so many resources and is incredibly strong in diverting us toward the wrong path-- the path to sin and iniquity.  We are only human, fallible to many things.  Satan is a bodiless spirit who has known the world since the era of Adam and Eve.  As we were born on the Earth, we were weak and vulnerable.  Sad to say, we still are.  Slowly, though, we are able to build experience to thwart a good lot of the things that Satan throws at us.  However, with millennia-old experience versus a less than a century's worth of experience, it's no real contest on who will trump the other.


     We remain afloat in a very troubling world filled with demonic influence.  The adversary is plenty in number and definitely very, VERY strong.  Every day, we struggle to hold on our virtues, our faith, and our dignity.  We can magnify the strength of holding on, enduring to the end, through the choices we make and the path that we follow.  If we choose to be righteous and faithful, that hand will gain strength.  It will hold us for a little bit longer.  If we cannot be righteous until the end and if the adversary does take hold of us, eventually defeating us in sin, all is not lost.  You're going to be sore for quite some time, but remember that the reason why it's so sore is because the muscle on your arm is repairing itself and making itself stronger.  If treated right, with repentance and condition, the next time you're arm wrestling that person, you'll be a lot stronger than you were and with faith in a loving Heavenly Father, you may even triumph!

With His grace, we can breeze through the adversary

     No one likes an easy loser.  There's fun and also a lot of effort in a competitive matchup.  The fact that we hold on and endure faithfully shows the fact that we are not quitters.  Life is just that.  If we quit too early, there's really no point in living it.  If we give up against the opponent while we arm wrestle, there was no point in having challenged him in the first place.

     I strongly believe in the fact that we all live in a verge of losing state-- the adversary does all that he can to make us lose completely.  As pessimistic as that sounds, I also believe that we may be able to overcome that state.  With a strong and lasting testimony in Jesus Christ, understanding why He had died for us, we can have a friend's hand hold ours up and slam the adversary's hand on the other side of the table.  As frail and incomplete as we are, God isn't.  With His help, we can endure to the end.  The Lord can make us bear our [heavy] burdens with ease.  We just really need to submit to what He wants us to do.






     Oh, and one random life hack: when you're in an arm wrestle, bring your arm (and the other person's arm) closer toward your body.  Then put down the person's arm.  You'll have more momentum than the other guy and you'll be surprised how much of difference it'll make!

Pandora's Finale Part 2

Not quite the couple, but you get the idea.

     Elegant white dresses and sharp, black tuxedoes-- the chapel was filled with around fifty or so people, all eyes beholding a man and a woman at the pulpit in front-- teary-eyed and filled with love.  It was a time of amazingly great joy!  All in attendance had felt that same emotion-- or at least a piece of it-- radiating from the couple.  The ceremony culminated with an exchange of vows, the sealing of rings, and lots of kisses.

     Kind of on a tangent, here, but it was there that I realized that the wedding ring symbolized one, never-ending union-- the circular infinity had brought to me a newer insight on the significance of marriage.

     Anywho, going back to the story, at that wedding, I learned a buttress to what I had previously written about.

     I'm not going to reveal any identities, but before the wedding, my companion was practicing the piano for a musical number with another person-- let's call her Alexa.  In a conversation, she had sarcastically implied that the marriage between the couple was money-driven.  Of course, still, it was of a joking attitude, but it bothered me a great deal-- I already had a preconceived notion that Southern Californians were the most shallow, greedy, and conceited people on the planet, so this didn't help to dissolve that image.

I'll name them both "Tiffany"

     When the actual marriage too place, I saw the couple-- goodness gracious!  The age discrepancy was quite odd for my teenage eyes.  There were illegitimate/former marriage children on both sides.  "Oh, great.  That girl was right.  We have another gold-digger over here.  This is going to go downhill really fast."  That preconceived notion made itself very known to me during that wedding ceremony.

     "Shoot.  I'm a missionary.  Why am I thinking such terrible things?"

     At that point, the elderly  man on his stroller, "I do"-ing his younger, middle-aged bride, the two had kissed, embraced, and began to share their vows with the audience.

     Essentially a testimony of love, what this couple had uttered during that small period of time had brought me a lot more peace and closure in my soul.  This couple had love burning in their eyes-- evident through the words in their lips.  In my heart, a feeling of hope for this couple had imprinted itself.  It was then and there that I had realized that I shouldn't have been so cynical-- not the first time, too.

Agree on the common ground you share with others

     Let me reemphasize this message of optimism.  We have to realize that people exist on this planet to benefit other people; people  have done more for other peoples' benefit than anything else-- God being the only entity having done more.  So with that in mind, our society-- our multicultural society-- cares for each other, no matter how unlikely it seems.  We have to hope-- we have to know that.  The motive of man is out of a sincere desire to help. to love, and to be altruistic.


     With such a naïve notion, one may ask, "hey, just last week, my so-called friend gypped me of a hundred bucks!" or even, "my friend threw me under the bus!"  Yes, betrayers and evil people may exist, but we have to think them as exceptions to society--

People are kind, beautiful, and awesome people!  

If some bad experience occurs, we have to keep firm with this knowledge of the awesomeness of others.  We cannot let the cynicism build up in our hearts, lest we want to turn into Pontius Pilate-- or even Squidward in that sense.

Curmudgeons aren't fun.

     We'll find happiness this way.  An eternal smile with a few letdowns is a lot better of a life than an eternal frown with a few noticed good things.  Have hope.  While I'm still trying myself, it's definitely given me a better outlook on life-- and of others.

     I can tell you right now that God loves optimism.  He is optimistic, even though He has to deal with imperfect people.  How frustrating it is, but He trusts us and has hope in us.  For those with kids, is it not the same?  Kids make a ton of silly, sometimes bone-headed mistakes, and it's frustrating!  But we still love and care for them because we believe that they'll grow up and learn from it.

     Society is awesome.  If you don't think so and need a word of encouragement, feel free to ask me!