Food for Thought

I have always loved to clean.  Even as I teenager I kept my room clean.  (You can ask my mom.)  A clean environment allows me to clear my mind and focus on what I am working on.  You know the feeling – it is just cozy!

One night, as a student at BYU, all my roommates were gone so I tidied up the kitchen.  It sparkled.  Then I lit a candle and dimmed the lights to create the perfect ambiance.  I remember looking forward to having a home of my own someday in which to create that same feeling.

Well, I do have a home of my own now, and guess what?  I still love to clean!  I am sure I drive my children a little crazy sometimes, but I am trying to teach them to value the advantages of having a clean home.

A few years ago, I read an article where the writer described his mind as a park.  A beautiful park with flowers, trees, a pond – even a bench to sit on.  When an inappropriate thought entered his mind, or “park” he imagined litter appearing.  The litter polluted his beautiful park and he removed it immediately. 

I adopted that idea because I could relate to it.  Instead of a park, I picture in my mind a beautiful home – in perfect order.  (Even fresh vacuum marks!)  When I have a thought that should not be there, I picture junk being dumped in my “home.”  I imagine the room becoming cluttered and I chase the thought away to restore cleanliness.

Elder Boyd K. Packer said, Thoughts are talks we hold with ourselves. Do you see why the scriptures tell us to “let virtue garnish [thy] thoughts unceasingly” and promise us that if we do, our “confidence [shall] wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon [our] soul[s] as the dews from heaven” and then “the Holy Ghost shall be [our] constant companion.”

As we think about positive, uplifting things, those thoughts permeate our souls and we become more positive.

Louisa May Alcott was only 14 when she wrote:

A little kingdom I possess,
Where thoughts and feelings dwell,
And very hard I find the task
Of governing it well; …

I do not ask for any crown
But that which all may win,
Nor seek to conquer any world
Except the one within.

Let the Spirit guide your thoughts.  Pray for something good to ponder.  Think about a scripture you read recently.  Keep a quote of the day in your pocket on a small piece of paper.  Refer to it throughout the day.  Put a penny in your shoe.  When you step on it, think something good about someone in your family. 

Allow your thoughts to beautify the “home” or “park” in your mind.  Such a small thing; but they play a huge role in who we become.  Just a little food for thought…

(Quotes taken from Elder Packer, “The Spirit of Revelation.”  Ensign, Nov. 1999, 23.)