In American history, there's several narratives of people making great journeys. It's a story shared by the first English immigrants to America and the German and Scots-Irish immigrants a few centuries later. It's a story forced upon the native people of America in the Trail of Tears and African American slaves in their cramped journey across the ocean. We've got a lot of sojourners here in this country, and we continue to add more to our stock every year. Historically, we are a people able to take a hard road in life, whether of our own accord or by the will of others. When nineteenth-century Mormons had been kicked out of their homes again and again in the Midwest, they decided to take a long journey across the Rockies to a place where they would hopefully be free to live decades in a place instead of a few years. Before setting off, they received Godly revelation: "If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. If thou art sorrowful, call on the Lord thy God with supplication, that your souls may be joyful." (D&C 136:28-29). I like this advice because I think it pertains to anyone living a life. Whether we are physically traveling a long distance or metaphorically forging our way through emotional climbs, there will be times that we are merry and times that we are sorrowful. We don't need to be ashamed of these feelings (not that our culture has much against being merry), but we can use this advice to make the best of how we're feeling.
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| Here's a good reason to smile. |
I think it is wise to multiply our merriment through singing, music, dancing, thanksgiving, and anything else that gives us joy. At times when I've felt low in life, I sometimes will smile at something, feel the utter juxtaposition of positivity that comes into my lungs and heart, and recall that I was previously feeling depressed. Remembering the weightier matters on my mind, I reject that smile as superficial. What a dumb thing to do! Why do I choose to be negatively minded, even about serious things, instead of happy right now? All these sojourners could have focused day in and day out about the endless up and down of sea waves or the hundreds of miles left to travel, but that is no way to survive. So when you're merry, multiply it. Let that positivity sink into your cells and give you energy to keep moving forward when, inevitably, sorrow returns. I once was interviewing someone for a magazine article about a teacher he had had. He said that this teacher had a "generous laughter." Besides being caught by the eloquence of this phrase, I also thought that that would be such a great quality to have. You might not reserve your laughter for the truly witty, but you're probably prone to be a little happier in life, and you're sharing that happiness with those around you.
From a man who knew all about making people smile, here's Charlie Chaplin's Smile:
Hoping smiles for you!
Amanda
P.S. Need a smile. Google "cute baby."
What makes you smile?
Sistionary
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