Choices affect the way things happen in our lives! Last night I chose to stay up late watching a tv program. I knew I shouldn't but I wanted to watch it, so I did. Before you get the wrong idea it wasn't a terrible show, it was just bad timing. It kept me up late, so when my alarm went off this morning I did not want to wake up. I chose to hit the snooze and laid in bed for a few extra minutes. Yet again another not wise choice. This put me getting out late. It wouldn't have been so bad except that there was more traffic than normal. Earlier there had been accidents on the lower deck and it caused back-ups all the way back to where I get on the freeway. I got to school and was able to find a parking space, which I was actually surprised about. But I ended up walking into class late. Not a big deal for this class, but I am still not a big fan of walking in late. I have to walk in front of the teacher who is already lecturing. The class period went by fine.
Then I had my next class. I enjoy this class, we are learning about the muscles right now, more specifically just the basics of the roles they perform. Eccentric and Cocentric movements in the muscles. Later we will be getting into more of the individual roles of each muscle. But today in the beginning of class my eyes were burning and wanting to shut because last night I chose to stay up. After a while it went away, thank heavens.
Class was over and it was time for me to head off to work. Normally I pack myself a lunch and eat on my drive to work, but I ran out of time this morning, so I was going to quickly stop at a fast food restaurant and get some food to eat on my way to work. I pull up to the drive-thru and order. I get to the window, they take my money and then I proceed to wait. They then ask me to pull up to the yellow line. Whoever designed the layout for the drive-thru did a poor job, or did not think about the poor souls who would have to pull ahead and wait on their meals. I pulled up to the specified yellow line and again wait. Then the person behind me wants to go, but I am blocking there way. I pull out as far as I can without leaving the restaurant but still they are stuck. What I am gonna do? I want my food, and I already paid for it. That is another thing I think i should get my food before I give them my money, or at least at the same time. The girl behind me starts honking her horn. K, not the best way to get on my good side. I hate horns. I know she was frustrated, she wanted to leave, well so did I. I got out of my car and let her know I was waiting on my food. I was losing my patience by this point. I wanted to tell the employee forget it, give me my money back, I don't want your food. Mostly because of the lady behind me honking her horn. One of the employees came out and now asked me if I would pull out of the restaurant and go wait in this other area. Feeling frustrated, instead of venting to the lady of the injustices :) I peeled out of the driveway, and whipped around. I avoided a verbal confrontation with the lady, but my actions were not commendable. I waited a little longer and finally they brought me my food. As I am sitting in the car I know I am not responding well to this situation. It is not even that big of a deal, yet I am making it the problem of the century inside myself. When the lady brought me my food, I know my face was upset, but that is how I was feeling, I was having a hard time of changing that, I tried with my voice to be calmer than I was on the inside and said Thank you, and Have a good Day!
At times in my life I have been very aware of how my anger affects me physically, not just the expression of anger but how I feel inside. I have had experiences of how to release the anger and feeling as the tension I have inside is released. It has been very interesting. Also a choice that can be made.
Now I was running late to work. I would probably make it just right on time instead of a few minutes early. As I am driving along on the normal road I take, today it has been decided that they are going to do road work. Only one Lane is open. I have to stop and wait so that my side of traffic can go. And it doesn't happen just once but twice. I continue on to work, now knowing I am going to be a few minutes late, and one more detour comes up, requiring me to go around a block.
At this point I am laughing to myself thinking how funny it is that I am hitting all of this opposition. All because of a choice that I made last night affecting the delays I had in my day. Had I brought my lunch, yes I would have hit the detours but it would not have mattered, I still would have gotten to work a few minutes early. I would have avoided my impatience at the fast food joint. I wouldn't have been so tired in my class, and I would have made it to my first class on time. Plus I also find I tend to be less patient when I am tired because I am more focused on my needs of just wanting some sleep, and whatever other need pops up, that I forget to think rationally.
Lessons and thoughts I had:
O be wise; what can I say more? Jacob 6:12
When opposition is coming I am so quick to say Satan is messing with me today, How often am I causing my own opposition to occur by the choices I have made?
In reading Jesus the Christ today in between my classes I read about the Rich young man asking the Savior what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. The Savior tells him what he lacks, but the young man feeling overwhelmed by the sacrifice walks away. Talmage then turns the question on the reader, What do I lack?
Such a great question, if we find out how are we going to respond. This is a question that was on my mind and has been well answered.
Since writing this post and before actually posting it I had a great lesson in Relief Society on Elder Uchtdorf's talk "A Matter of a Few Degrees" from the April 2008 General Conference. I was able to correlate my thoughts that I learned here with that talk, in how I was put off a few degrees in the direction I was heading because of the choice I made.
