In my wanderings through books and talks and articles today, I came across this quote from President Boyd K. Packer, a beloved leader in the LDS Church:
“It was meant to be that life would be a challenge. To suffer some anxiety, some depression, some disappointment, even some failure is normal. …
If [you] have a … miserable day once in a while, or several in a row, … stand steady and face them. Things will straighten out.
There is great purpose in our struggle in life”
Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, May 1978
This actually makes me feel a warm sense of comfort; of reassurance that we are indeed human during this life and that’s okay. The humanness, the frailty, the emotions–they are all part of something larger. Sometimes the counsel and the pressure ( especially on women) veers a little toward being super-human, and while I know I’m capable of that in some far future day, the idea shared above says that on the way to becoming super-human, take a minute to live and learn from being actually human.
This man had his share of miserable days as he struggled with polio as a child, then re-learned how to walk, then fought in WWII. Sometimes it is sort of overwhelming and even discouraging to hear the advice to “Don’t Worry, just be happy.” I love that he doesn’t say to snap out of it if you have miserable days, but instead to face them, acknowledge them, learn from them. I like to be optimistic, but sometimes a situation calls for a little mourning. I am not down or unhappy today, but this quote will be secreted away in my heart for the inevitable miserable day or two in my future.
My Red Door Days 