From ad0bbbc109ae8aeb7559cdbecf3c66b900f7e885 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Collin Williams <96917990+bluedragon1221@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2024 10:15:57 -0500 Subject: initial commit --- src/md/42_A_Date_with_Eternity_Epilog.md | 81 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 81 insertions(+) create mode 100644 src/md/42_A_Date_with_Eternity_Epilog.md (limited to 'src/md/42_A_Date_with_Eternity_Epilog.md') diff --git a/src/md/42_A_Date_with_Eternity_Epilog.md b/src/md/42_A_Date_with_Eternity_Epilog.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5453d17 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/md/42_A_Date_with_Eternity_Epilog.md @@ -0,0 +1,81 @@ +--- +title: A Date with Eternity Epilogue +--- + +Life Lesson: Do things every day to retain that vital eternal +perspective that aids our smaller daily decisions. + +This story is a follow-on to the original article. It will be an +addition of insights that have come with the perspective of time. I +suppose a better title would be "The Wisdom of Perspective". Please be +patient as I explain what I mean.\ +\ +In late Summer of this year (2018), Lori and I traveled to California to +meet with Angela Salmon and her family to do a tour of some of the +Redwood forests. It was a delightful drive with great anticipation of +the wonders of nature that awaited us in the forests of California. +However, when we glimpsed the first of the redwoods at a distance, I was +rather disappointed. From a distance, the forest looked a bit like the +following photo. + +![A picture containing tree, plant, forest, wood Description +automatically +generated](md/42_A_Date_with_Eternity_Epilog-media/media/image1.jpeg){width="6.5in" +height="4.44375in" alt=""} + +The forest is a pleasant and beautiful sight, but it didn't seem like it +was much different from any other forest. After all, we lived in the +Northwest, where beautiful forest scenes are abundant. What was missing +was some kind of indicator in the scene that would give our brains an +appreciation of the scale of these enormous trees. The following photos +illustrate my point. + +![A person and person standing next to a large stone statue Description +automatically generated with low +confidence](md/42_A_Date_with_Eternity_Epilog-media/media/image2.jpeg){width="6.5in" +height="8.666666666666666in" alt=""} + +![A picture containing outdoor, tree, ground, rock Description +automatically +generated](md/42_A_Date_with_Eternity_Epilog-media/media/image3.jpeg){width="6.5in" +height="4.875in" alt=""} + +When you see Lori and me in the picture, you can see how truly enormous +these trees are. By comparing the size of our tiny bodies with the +mighty trunks of the trees, this new perspective creates a significant +difference in the appreciation of the wonder of the experience.\ +\ +Thus, I hope you can see that perspective is vital to the full +understanding of what we experience in our lives. To illustrate more +fully, I'll give you another example.\ +\ +Lori and I celebrated our 40th anniversary on August 26th of this year. +One of the activities to celebrate the occasion was a trip to the +Portland temple to do an endowment session together. We were asked to be +the witness couple in the session. While Lori and I were kneeling side +by side in the endowment room, it brought back a vivid memory of +kneeling across the alter from Lori when we were married 40 years +before. However, this experience now included the perspective added by +the passing of 40 years of time. I was deeply moved by the appreciation +I had for 40 years of happiness with Lori by my side. Forty years ago, I +only had an inkling of what was in store, but I had no real perspective +to add depth to the experience. At this moment of my life, I had not +only the eternal perspective brought by the temple session, but also the +perspective of the passage of 40 years. It was a remarkable realization +of how important perspective can be.\ +\ +It all boils down to a valuable life lesson. We need to do things often +to retain a perspective of life that will influence every experience we +have and decision we make. A view into the eternities can be had daily +from simple practices like reading the scriptures and praying. I now +have a new resolve to be better at doing the daily things that keep my +perspective wide enough to fully appreciate the experiences of each +day.\ +\ +Now I'll try to wrap up the reason this article is an epilogue to the +original article. The first article explained how I had a glimpse of the +nobility and greatness of the soul of the person I was hiking with. Now, +with the perspective of time and a deeper understanding of eternal +principles, I more fully realize how fortunate I am to be sharing my +mortal experience with such a wonderful companion. What was only a +glimpse has become a certainty that will forever grace my life. -- cgit v1.3.1