Simplify.
Delegate.
Cancel.
Slow down.
Breathe.
Look at the Sky.
Enjoy those flowers.
Don’t be hard on yourself.
Focus on family now.
You are doing enough.
Visit her now.
Walk away from it.
Decline that request.
That project can wait.
Stay for the whole game.
You don’t need to fix this.
It’s ok that you have limitations.
These are a few of the simple messages that the Spirit taught me this month. Also, it reminded me of this talk by President Uchtdorf.
One of the things we learn from studying the growth of trees is that during seasons when conditions are ideal, trees grow at a normal rate. However, during seasons when growing conditions are not ideal, trees slow down their growth and devote their energy to the basic elements necessary for survival.
…What do you suppose pilots do when they encounter turbulence? A student pilot may think that increasing speed is a good strategy because it will get them through the turbulence faster. But that may be the wrong thing to do. Professional pilots understand that there is an optimum turbulence penetration speed that will minimize the negative effects of turbulence. And most of the time that would mean to reduce your speed. The same principle applies also to speed bumps on a road.
Therefore, it is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions.
This is a simple but critical lesson to learn. It may seem logical when put in terms of trees or turbulence, but it’s surprising how easy it is to ignore this lesson when it comes to applying these principles in our own daily lives. When stress levels rise, when distress appears, when tragedy strikes, too often we attempt to keep up the same frantic pace or even accelerate, thinking somehow that the more rushed our pace, the better off we will be.
-Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Of Things that Matter Most,” October 2010