Helper for Hire

I love that I have a job where I get to help people. I work as a writing tutor, and today, I was able to help two students figure out some ideas for their paper and figure out how to revise their paper into one that fits the prompt they were given. It was great. Just a handful of hours of talking with someone, helping them brainstorm and figure out solutions, and by the end of each of those tutoring sessions, the student was a lot closer to their goal than they were at the start. I like being able to help people, and I love that I get to do it for a job. It's very fulfilling work. I feel like, in some ways, it's what I was meant to do.

I figured out a long time ago that helping others is "what I'm here for." It's part of my purpose on Earth, and I love doing it. I really genuinely love helping people. Granted, it can get tiring sometimes, and for a while, I worried about being taken advantage of, but those whom I help now are very respectful and grateful for my help (some even monetarily), so I very much don't mind helping them. In fact, time and energy permitting, I'd like to help them more. I love helping people. I love the feeling I get when I help people, when I do good and accomplish good things, when I get thanked for it, and when I feel my Heavenly Father's approval.

God sent me here to help people, and I'm happy to help, especially if I can somehow make a career out of doing it.

Emotions are Positive Feedback Loops

I've probably blogged about feedback loops. A feedback loop is any system where the output becomes the input. The output "feeds back" into the system, with an increasing or decreasing effect. If the feedback loop increases the effect that fed into it, that is called a positive feedback loop, and if the feedback loop decreases the effect instead, that is called a negative feedback loop.

One example of a positive feedback is attraction due to gravity. If two objects are close enough to pull on each other, and no other forces keep them apart, they will drift closer together. The closer they get to each other, the stronger the gravitational pull becomes, bringing them even closer. This continues until a collision occurs. An example of a negative feedback loop is wind resistance. The faster an object tries to pass through the air, the more resistance the air will provide, slowing it down.

Naturally, that's only tangentially related to what I wanted to say. I kinda just wanted you to understand what I said in the title, "Emotions are Positive Feedback Loops." Having some amount of any particular emotion increases the condition of having more of that emotion. (There's no science in this, that I know of, by the way. This is just my observation. I'm probably wrong about this.) This happens mostly through our perceptions. When we're happy, we're more likely to see things that make us happy and/or be happy about the things we see. When we're angry, we're more likely to find other things to get angry about. When we're upset, more things are upsetting. Frustrated, frustrating. And so on. It seems to me that every emotion alters our perceptions in such a way that grows that emotion.

The same principle applies through our behavior and that of other people. When we're upset, we're more likely to lash out, further upsetting ourselves and others. When we're sad, we might start crying, and when a person cries, it's hard to stop. Thankfully, this positive feedback loop applies to desirable emotions, too. When we're happy, we're more likely to do things that make us and other people happy, further increasing our own happiness and that of others.

So, let's all try to be mindful of the emotions we cultivate. Let's try to grow and spread our uplifting emotions and to resolve our less-desirable emotions before they get a chance to grow and spread.

Conduits of God's Love

I was grateful that I was able to lead a good discussion today. Lots of people commented, shared their own experiences, and bounced ideas off each other. It was great. One of my main takeaways from that discussion is how we, as people, can act as manifestations of God's love. Specifically, our acts of love can reflect and take the form of God's acts of love. For example, visiting a sick or elderly individual can help them feel both our love and God's love for them. God often expresses His love through the acts of other people. As we express acts of love, God can express His love through us.

A Pleasant Surprise

As I was writing an essay contrasting the Ancient Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife against those taught by the Church, it struck me how little detail we actually have about the Spirit World and the three Kingdoms of Glory. We know the basic hierarchy of the afterlife, but the Ancient Egyptians knew the geography. Some Ancient Egyptians were even buried with maps.

And yet, as envious as I am of their knowledge of their afterlives, I wouldn't trade places with them. Their detailed information describes horrible hazards, such as poisonous serpents, impenetrable darkness, and dismembering demons, whereas the one "detail" we have about the lowest, telestial kingdom is that its glory "surpasses all understanding" (D&C 76:89).

I don't know much about what awaits me in the LDS afterlife, but I know it's better than what the Ancient Egyptians thought they knew awaited them. Sure, I'd like to know what the next stage of my life is going to be like, but so long as it has to be a surprise, at least I'm confident that it's going to be a pleasant one.

"As a Man Speaketh"

I recently had an experience that reminded me of something Nephi said about a conversation he had with an angel.

1 Nephi 11:11 ...for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.

But as I was looking for that scripture, I found another that I like even better.

Exodus 33:11 And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend...

I really love these scriptures and the concept behind them. Granted, I know that these are biblically exceptional experiences, but they don't have to be. The experience I alluded to earlier was coming to the realization that when I communicate with the Holy Spirit, we talk to each other the same way any two people talk to each other. We basically just talk.

I'm sure some people and religious count it as blasphemous to have casual conversations with deity, to speak with them "as a man speaketh with another" or "as a man speaketh unto his friend," but I don't think it is. After all, Elohim is our God and Jesus is our Messiah, but they're still family. And one day, if we're careful and perseverant, we'll be just as great and glorious as they are. Then why should we not speak as equals? In terms of our potential, that's exactly what we are. And having a close relationship with deity will only increase our chances of realizing that potential. At the very least, speaking to them "as a man speaketh," makes it easier to pray, which we are supposed to do always. 

So, blasphemous or not, I'm going to continue to speak to the Spirit (and to God through His Spirit) "as a man speaketh unto his friend." I want to be God's friend, not His servant, and not His enemy. And one way to foster such a friendship is be speaking with Him as a friend. Nephi did it. Moses did it. And so will I.

The Currant Bush

I keep thinking about that currant bush. You may or may not be familiar with the story from several General Conferences ago. I think you can find it on YouTube with the title "The Will of God." Anyhow, I keep wondering if the currant bush had any say in what kind of plant it grew up to be. It seemed perfectly happy to grow as large as it could before the gardener came and pruned it down. And, yeah, with its smaller size, it produced more berries, but that still seems like a bit of a trade off. Yeah, the bush is now better in this one specific way, but it's also still worse in another way which the bush previously seemed to care about. Whether that's better or worse over all depends on which trait is valued more, and value is subjective. Also, I'm not sure whose opinion should or should not matter in making this evaluation. I keep thinking, sure, the gardener knows what he wants, but shouldn't we also care what the currant bush wants, especially since the currant bush is the one that's getting cut up?

Now, there are many ways to interpret the story charitably for the gardener. Maybe the currant bush was happier being productive than it had been when it was tall. Maybe the currant bush had chosen to be a productive, berry-producing currant bush before its physical form was created, and it had merely forgotten that it had wanted to be productive, perhaps because of some kind of veil of forgetfulness. Maybe, had the currant bush been properly informed and consulted on the matter, it would have consented to being pruned down, and maybe the gardener did consult with the currant bush, but that part was cut out of the story to save time. Maybe the gardener wasn't just some self-assured jerk enforcing his will on apparently sentient creatures, totally disregarding their will.

I can only hope that the currant bush was ultimately happier after its encounter with the gardener than it had been before it. And if I ever meet a gardener who "loves me enough to hurt me," I hope He also loves me enough to explain why hurting me is necessary and to get my permission before pruning me down.

Post-Work Rest and Recreation

Regardless of whatever my blogging history may suggest, I like to do my homework as early as possible, both to make sure I have time to do it all and to try to make sure I have time to relax after the work is done. It feels nice to have my work done and be able to spend the rest of my time however I choose. I feel the same way, on a smaller scale, when I manage to blog before the late evening.

I wonder if I'll feel the same way at the end of my life. After Final Judgment, after all my mortal labors are done, I wonder what comes next. Will I go straight into my Eternal endeavors, or will I have time for some post-mortality rest and recreation first? I suppose I can only hope.

And I can enjoy my free time here, while I have it. As long as I can get my work done quickly enough, and meet my goals with time to spare, I'll at least have some time that I can spend as I please. Work is, of course, important, but what I like best is the time when I get to relax and play after the work is done.