If at first you don't succeed, cry, cry, again

Actually, I'll be sticking to the more standard version but I wanted to get your attention and avoid being cliche :) I do believe in try, try again. I think one of the most beautiful aspects of life is the second chance (as well as the third, fourth, fifth, seventy-seventh...). This principle is nowhere more beautifully exhibited than in the Atonement of Christ. Through Him we can have as many second chances as we are willing to take. He is the one that has said so many times, "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you" (D&C 88:63). "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Rev. 3:20). He loves us and He will be so happy to help us become clean, grow, and come to Him if we let Him. One of my favorite hymns talks about the Atonement. Here are my favorite lines:

"Holy, holy is the Lord. Precious, precious is his word: Repent and live, Repent and live; Tho your sins be crimson red, Oh, repent, and he'll forgive. Oh, repent, and he'll forgive." (from the hymn by William W. Phelps "Gently Raise the Sacred Strain")(you can find and listen to the hymn at this website! http://www.lds.org/cm/display/0,17631,4996-1,00.html)

When I sing that it almost always makes me want to cry (even this minute)--are there many things more beautiful than forgiveness and second chances?

The thoughts that brought me around to all of this reflection actually came from something a little silly. This past Thursday night I went snowboarding. It was my second time ever and I loved it! I got the hang of it and had so much fun!! I went until the very last minute the resort was open :) The point is: the first time I went snowboarding a few years ago I hated it. I spent the day falling and the next day enjoying a purple, black, and blue backside (woot woot for alliteration). I already know how to ski well and went back to that, thinking I'd never snowboard again. But then my friend wanted to go and had never been so I decided to take him as a surprise for his birthday :) (Isn't it great how love and friendship help us overcome our fears and reservations?) We went night snowboarding at Brighton and it was so beautiful! The lights were in the trees and the glow in the night was magical. I was so grateful that I had a second chance at snowboarding. If not, I would have always disliked it and never realized the enjoyment I could find :) Do any of you have similar experiences?

Upstairs, Downstairs, Side-stairs, Side-lairs?

Today I had to go pick up my W-2 form for taxes which some might not consider the most pleasant chore (although for students I think it usually turns out to be a mini Christmas of sorts). Anyway, it was down in the basement and as I was coming up I looked upward to my joy and nostalgia! I saw a tangle of sunlight, stairs, and shadows that reminded me right away of M.C. Escher :) It was such a happy little moment of pleasantness. I feel like there are beautiful, happy surprises all around us if we just look. It made me glad and curious to see those webs of stairs above me and then to walk out into the sunshine of a lovely March day.

When I was in elementary school I remember studying Escher and being so intrigued by his puzzles in art. We got to learn to make our own tesselations (vocabulary bonus points, anyone?)--I think I tried to make mine extra complicated and I'm not sure it worked out too well but it was fun. I'm grateful for art classes. I have a lot of happy, peaceful memories from art classes throughout my life. Just like Dali's melting clocks, I feel that the importance and usual presence of time melts away in art or when we get involved in any task--especially a peaceful, concentration-requiring task.

A few summers ago I was in Russia and was able to take a traditional wood-painting class. In the midst of a city of around 6 million people (the majority of whom were unknown to me), hundreds of buildings, the craziness of studying a new language, and more I felt calm and rejuvinated in an upstairs workshop as I painted. Even though it's work it is so relaxing because it's a new thinking track---like taking your mind on vacation to see new scenes and experience new sensations. Hurray for art! I hope it will always stay in schools (and hearts).

I do have one bad memory, though, about an art class. That was when my kindergarten art teacher instilled in me a deep, nearly unshakeable fear of staplers. I'm pretty sure our teacher told us about a kid getting his or her thumb stapled off or at least straight through. I thought of staplers as malicious jumping cactuses waiting to steal my digits if I went anywhere near. Secretly (and now publicly) I'm still a little afraid of staplers--especially the automatic one's that bang like a gun.

Nevertheless, I love art and I'm even grateful for staplers! I think art encourages us to look around and love and ponder what we see--like the stairs above us after picking up a tax form. When we look with eyes of wonder we see so much to make us glad. It reminds me that God made this earth just for us. Maybe we could have learned in bland cubicles but instead He gave us beauty, variety, mystery, etc. Perhaps because these things would remind our souls of Him and of who we really are, making it easier to return to Him. Yes! This ties in to my post below--we can learn so much about God through His creations---that means everything around us can become a source of light and learning. Amazing.

Well, I'm off to a folk music concert for St. Patrick's day! Don't forget to find and kiss an Irish person (or a leprechaun if you get the chance)! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Creation

"The spark of creation, is flickering within me
The spark of creation, is blazing in my blood
A bit of the fire that lit up the stars
And breathed life into mud, the first inspiration
The spark creation

I see a mountain and I want to climb it
I see a river and I want to leave shore
Where there was nothing let there be something, something made by me
There's things waiting for me to invent them
There's worlds waiting for me to explore
I am an echo of the eternal cry of
Let there be!"

- "The Spark of Creation" from Stephen Schwartz's musical Children of Eden

I am so amazed by the desire humans have to create. I think it shows so much that we really are children of God--just like Him we want to create things. Even little kids want to create--they create games, toys, ridiculous fashions, even languages. I remember writing my own little code language with a friend in elementary school. It wasn't very practical, but it was fun and super top-secret :) I also remember inventing games and creating new stories in my mind. Another memory I have is of my little sister inventing a fashion revolution which required the wearing of every pair of socks one owned as well as every single head band. So much is creation---we can create friendships, questions, conversations, laughter---the possibilities are infinite. What's something you or your child or someone near you has created? What do you want to create?

I think creation is so beautiful and exciting. The picture I've attached here is of a trip I took to Zion National Park in Utah. Swirling, rainbow canyons were carved there--created--with wind and water and time. Amazing.

I think creation is a very special gift. Perhaps the most amazing is the gift to create life. I think it's more than a "perhaps."

There's a verse in the Book of Mormon that I really like about creation: "...The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." - Alma 30:44

I like this scripture especially for the phrase "all things denote there is a God." I believe this and I feel it, too. Something I love is that where I go to college I can always see the mountains. When I am walking to class I often look up at them--sometimes white with snow, sometimes orange and red with fall leaves, sometimes green and brown. When I see them I feel more peaceful. Next to creations so large and old my worries don't seem as important. I think the mountains help remind me that God is involved in our lives and is so near and so powerful. He created things as large as galaxies and yet cares enough to beautifully organize the veins on a single leaf. I think we can learn a lot about our Heavenly Father from His creations---He has the power and vision to create on a grand scale but the care and involvement to give attention to the most microscopic of details. That's how He is in our lives, too---He sees the big picture and can help us in it but He also sees and cares about the little things :)

Perhaps this qualifies as a more stream of conscious blog? Well, I'd better be off to sleep :) I'll leave you with a few last things:

1) I love creativity and the great expanse of possibility in creation. It makes life a never-ending adventure. I was thinking about creation and I rememered my friend, Sydney, who likes to design head bands and clothing. In class I'll often see her in something cute that she's made herself. She creates! It may seem like a shameless promotion but I really admire her desire to create and be proactiv so here is the link to her head band blog: http://lemignonbandeau.blogspot.com/

2) In church the other day somebody talked about how all things bear witness of Christ and we are a part of "all things." That means that even we can and should bear record of (be like) Christ. I felt really inspired when I heard that. I'm going to try to do it better.

3) I wish you all sweet dreams! May your resting minds create many happy and engaging dreams :) Maybe try to involve coconuts, frogs, and banana-shaped houses in them? Good night!

Hello New Blog!!

Hello family, friends, and visitors! This is my new blog (a word I've always found sort of strange---it makes me think of bullfrogs singing teehee...). Anyway, I'll write as often as I can :) I'll try to entertain you, too, while I'm at it. The blog will likely jump around from topic to topic just like my mind but there will be a common thread and that thread is me! I hope you will find something fun, uplifting, or even inspiring. I'll try to share a little piece of my journey through life and maybe this slice will offer a useful new perspective for you. See you soon! -Sierra