Sitting and thinking has never been easy for me because there are so many internal as well as external distractions. Most of my adult life I have been an administrator, either at a large university or at a Church Family History Library. My mind has been full of budget concerns, personnel and training questions, etc. I think about better ways to do old and ever present problems that men and women have been filtering through their minds ever since Adam’s time. Obviously there has been headway made, we do everything better than did Adam. I say that, not as a reflection to Adam’s intellect, because we know that Adam is the Archangel whose intellectual level would be slightly below Christ’s himself. Christ being just below the Father of us all and He (the Father) being the most intelligent of all. Adam after becoming the first man on earth forgot everything about his previous life, as is true for all of us. As a spirit child in that pre-earth life, we learned about this opportunity to come to an earth organized and prepared specifically as part of the Father’s plan for our eternal progression. Adam, being the first man or forerunner had to start with the very basics, such as, how am I going to keep warm? What can I eat that won’t poison me? Yes, he was taught how to till the ground but harvest was several months away. How do I make a sturdy shelter that will withstand the wind and the rain? As I am thinking about what Adam had to learn in the beginning, it is overwhelming. Today we just have to fine tune things that have existed for thousands of years. Man has actually done a pretty good job. However, look at the new things being introduced to society every single day. It is actually mind-boggling.
Are these new ways brought forth by sitting and thinking about things or are they brought forth and conceived while doing and seeing what works and what doesn’t? It has happened both ways for me. I remember waking up in the middle of the night having dreamed how to solve a problem that was on my mind. I was so excited about what I was going to do that I could hardly wait for morning and to get to work.
Just sitting has always been hard for me and I’m sure I speak for many others. Doing has been my way even though a lot of my doing has been done while sitting. Just sitting and thinking without my hands and mind going is the very hard thing. It would probably be a good thing for me, if I could.
I was going through my emails the other day and came across this statement by a granddaughter. It started my brain down this track. Once I get on a track, I am much like a train I am there until I reach the destination. Like Amber says, “It’s okay to take a deep breath and sit and think for awhile, no matter where that location may be!” I’m going to try it now that I am old and have been put out in the field to graze all day.
Amber put it this way; “One year ago today I went through the Ogden temple for the first time. It was an amazing experience to go and feel at peace and away from the loud world for a while. Sitting and meditating and learning in a beautiful and reverent place was important for me. I encourage those who can to visit the temple. And I encourage those who can’t or choose not to (for whatever reason), to find other quiet places to meditate and feel at peace. In quiet moments of pondering, I have made some of the biggest decisions of my life. It’s okay to take a deep breath and sit and think for awhile, no matter where that location may be!” Amber. I can do that now, I don’t have to run, I don’t have to be thinking about how to do things easier or faster. I can sit and think or sit and relax because I’m old and everybody can see that, even I.
I like the thought of it.