Choices

The world around us is a great and wonderful place. It is full of magic and wonder. It is also full of intrigue and danger. In the face of all this we have the ability to choose for ourselves what we will do. The first choice we make in a day is to wake up and the last is when to go to sleep. In between we make hundreds of choices and in the midst of all these decisions we live our life.

In the great free countries of this world we have the ability to make choices for ourselves to guide our life. Freedom to make our own decisions and think for ourselves is God given. In the Declaration of Independence it says that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The freedom that we have gives us the ability to pursue happiness. The decisions that we make on a day to day basis are for the sole purpose to bring us happiness. By and large we don’t wake up and say I am going to do such and such today so that I will be miserable. We wake up and do things to help make us happy, though in so doing we inadvertently do things that reach to the other end. That is we do things to make us happy but in the end these very things make us miserable.

Case in point: We go to the mall and find that magical pair of shoes or the new electronic gadget that has just been released on the market. These items cost more then we can reasonably spend now, but a wonderful bank has given us the means to our happiness and the pursuit thereof. In the consumer nature of our society we make the decision to consume and pay over time for these blessed luxuries that will bring us happiness. We take the bait and 6 months later are still paying for the shoes that were worn once or for the gadget that we never really learned to use. The credit card bills make it even harder to achieve what you want. What you want is happiness, and what you wanted was happiness. A decision was made to pursue happiness, which is your God given right, but the decision that was made in the name of happiness is now the very reason you are miserable today. A myriad of other examples can be made. These include many of the guilty pleasures in this life including food, drugs, sex, and gambling. These items promise happiness, but often lead to misery.

It is also true that we have obstacles to our own happiness. The very fact that we are alive means that we not only have the freedom to act but that others are free to act upon us. In the end; however, we are the ones who can control our own destiny. We must therefore learn how to control ourselves and by so doing be able to make those choices that will lead to true happiness. Happiness is the goal in life. Let us then take a deeper look into ourselves to find out how we tick. By uncovering why we make the choices that we make we can take control of our lives so that we can achieve what we really want: to be happy.

Life Goes On

Life is a strange beast that roles on with time as long as my heart is beating and my lungs are breathing. It has brought me from the small town of Lehi Utah to the great state of Maryland and over again to Texas. I remember how exited I was to get out of Ephraim and go on my mission to Rochester New York.

Plans have come and plans have gone. Once upon a time I was going to be a firefighter, then a paleontologist. As I grew up I changed my mind to other things like an accountant, a football player, or a doctor. Then I decided to become a pharmacist. During this journey I was undecided through most of it. It wasn't until after my mission that my goal to become a doctor was solidified.

I had other goals as well. Soon after my mission I met and fell in love with Emily and soon after we were married in the Manti Temple. A little more then a year later I became a father when Caleb was born. These were two of my biggest goals. Our little family expanded again with the birth of Charlotte.

Over this same period of time I graduated twice, joined the army, and started medical school. It was about two years ago that we felt like we needed another one in our family. It took a long time for the little one to come.

This past week I got to go in and see our new little one on ultrasound for the first time. I saw the little ones mouth and nose and eyes. I could see all the fingers and toes. The heart was beating, and the stomach was waiting for deposits. Finally we found out that our new addition is going to be a girl.

Life is going forward again. My little ones have aspirations just as I did. I don't know where they will be in 20 years, and I don't know where I will be. What I do know is that we will always be a family, and that's what is really important.

Labor Day

Our house was invaded by more people then we could count on our hands. (I took off my shoes and I think I just about got it (10 of Chelle's + Mom, Dad, and the 4 at home and 4 of us that call this place home.) The floor was hard. But everyone survived. In the end we went to the Alamo and River Walk and called it a weekend.