Dreaming Dreams, And Then Some

Here's the story of Maisie DeVore, whose example of saving for a pool inspires me. Daring to dream a dream is the huge first step. But continuing to work tirelessly toward its fulfillment, in the face of seeming impossibility, is the part that eludes most of us. Many years ago, when he was a little boy, Jake dreamed of playing college basketball, and in a few weeks he'll head off to Virginia to begin doing just that. Maisie dreamed of building a swimming pool for the children in her town. See how she finally made that happen. Both remind me of the truth my mother always taught me: "Can't is a sluggard, too lazy to try."

Happy

I'm so happy that my very best girlfriend is in town. Jennie and Dustin and the kids are here for a far-too-short visit. I love every minute they are here, whether we're doing the platypus, having a waterfight and then reading books in the "secret place", or going to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Openhouse.

Last week I went to the temple, and came out with the same message I usually come out with: "Be happy". That's what the Lord has asked us (well actually commanded us) to do. Here is a poem that says the same thing to me. It's from a book of Good Poems, collected by Garrison Keillor, which I gave to Jon to take with him to Alaska. He gave it back to me and told me he probably wouldn't have much reading time, so to just post some of my favorites on my blog. So this one's for you Jonny. It reminds me not to wait until all the sadness is gone to be happy.

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountain and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.