Real Education

I've had the privilege of attending BYU's Education Week these past few days.  Tonight was the last night.  I've written down thoughts, taken snapshots of slides with my phone, and took mental notes too.  I don't want to lose any of this.  There is so much I need to learn!  I've had many impressions come of what I need to do to be a better wife and mother, a better sister and friend.  I have some goals I really want to achieve like being a more focused listener,  to seek more to understand rather than to be understood, to express sincere gratitude to God and to others more (especially those of my own family), to give more of personal one-on-one time to my kids even if it's just for 10 min.

 I want to be more optimistic and do better at recognizing blessings.  I heard a story tonight about a woman with trials I cannot even begin to describe, she's a modern-day Job.
 Man, her story was humbling! I couldn't help think of that old Indian proverb:  "I used to complain I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet."  I have now and have had such a cushy life in comparison.

I went to a class on Tuesday all about optimism and living after the manner of happiness.  I've been thinking about what this looks like and how to apply it to myself.

Yesterday, I took my kids shopping for some school supplies.  As we left the store and loaded up the van, I stopped in my tracks and just looked around: I saw my wonderful children, I saw the beautiful sky above me, saw the modern conveniences everywhere and the ability we have to buy food and clothes... I got in the car and as we pulled on to the freeway, my heart was brimming over...  I just blurted out "It's a miracle!  It's a complete miracle!"
My kids looked at me with the usual glare, "You're so weird mom!"
I kept going, "No really, look at everything around us!  We are riding in this amazing machine at incredible speeds, we have air conditioning on a hot day and music that plays at the touch of a button. We hardly have to move a muscle and can be transported from point A to point B in just a matter of minutes.  Can you imagine what the pioneers would have thought of our being able to travel like this??  Couldn't you just see the handcart companies stuck in the snow and see an airplane fly overhead and realize, 'You mean to tell us we could have made this trip in 2 hours?!'  You guys we have miracles like this right in front of our face all the time that we hardly realize what is happening because we're just used to it.  They are EVERYWHERE!  We are so amazingly blessed!"
I wasn't sure if my kids were listening but boy it felt so good!  It was wonderful to take a moment to bask in all that is at our fingertips.  I want to make a habit of doing this more, I really do.  (As I'm writing, I'm remembering a devotional by Russel M. Nelson called The Magnificence of Man.  I need to listen to that again.)

I'll have to share in detail some time other things that I've taken with me from Education Week. My husband wants to make this a yearly tradition. I'm excited about that..  I have so very much to learn!

-Alicia