There are some among us who are unhappy with their lives because they have wanted to achieve a measure of greatness in this life, but now feel they have failed in some fundamental way. We have concern for those who have worked hard and who have lived righteously but think—because they have not achieved in the World or in the Church what others have achieved—that they have failed. Sixteen-year-old Rachel write: I want the thrill the happiness and the fun like I see in movies. I want to give people the joy of seeing me in movies like y movie heroes did with me!!! I figured out that I am tired of just dreaming about doing something, I am sick of looking for a regular job, I know that nothing but acting interests me, I feel life slipping by, and that something is missing feeling begins to dominate me all day and night. In that statement, Rachel reminds us that we are not talking in abstract here, but a lot of people have dreams, goals, and aspirations they feel are their birthright. We live in a World that seems to worship its own kind of greatness. And to become a celebrity, for example, and sell the most of one thing to as many people as possible, the system, much like other industries, must be exclusionary. Big money is made when a billion people are all interested in the same product. This is far more likely to occur wen those billion people have only five hundred highly successful stars, or other good and services to choose from. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6

 The tight control over access to creative product stifle dissent—aesthetic and political—along with the bulk of our generally mainstream aspirations. Visualization on physical vigor works by taking on the mental trappings of our goal, and we come closer to our goal. What is so exciting about emotions is when you come to know yourself well, you can use your thoughts to shape your emotions just as your emotions have shaped your thoughts. We also can experience a whole symphony of dominant and nondominant feelings at once. Being able to feel happy and sad, hopeful and despairing at the same time is the hallmark of mature emotional response. People who seem capable of this emotional dichotomy in their younger years are those who have undergone and overcome huge hurdles—war survivors, World-class athletes, people who as children suffered severe emotional hardship. This expansion in emotional capacity, coupled with our ability to trigger emotions through our behavior, gives us a chance to feel the way we choose to feel instead of being locked into some kind of emotional trap by the dictates of our brain chemistry. Realizing that we are one with all people, we affirm that there is a silent power flowing through us, which blesses and heals and prospers, makes happy and glad our pathway. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6

When we realize that the World is made up of people like ourselves, we bless the World and affirm that it shall come under the divine government of Good, under the divine providence of love, and under the divine leadership of the supreme intelligence. For this is God’s kingdom, and the power, and the glory are forever. Because we are being constantly exposed to the World’s definition of success and greatness, it is understandable that we might frequently find ourselves making comparisons between what we are and what others are, or seem to be, and also between what we have and what others have. Although it is true that making comparisons can be beneficial and may motivate us to accomplish much good and improve our lives, yet we often allow unfair and improper comparisons to destroy our happiness when they cause us to feel unfulfilled or inadequate or unsuccessful. There are people who believe that all organized competition is lame.  Whatever one’s belief is, we have to learn the value of continuing in righteousness. Increasing our ability to regulate our emotions and choose which ones will dominate our experience is a prize of maturity well worth earning. A little practice in manipulating our own biochemistry will help us immeasurably in balancing the pleasure and pain that are part of life. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6

Imagine being ale to distance yourself enough from your feelings of fury and betrayal to come up with a solution that is practical and emotionally satisfying. Sometimes we give in to the overwhelming evidence that the World is confusing, and that things do not always (or often) go our way, that we are just one little piece of the human pie. Most of us find we can give our concerns a kind of hierarchy: having a healthy family is more important than having a healthy bank account. We may also find ourselves more capable of taking disappointments in stride, and more willing to try new approaches to the way we run our lives. Some of us, however—especially those of us who have had to work very hard to make things go our way—have a difficult time letting go of the adolescent and young-adult tendency to hone in on areas of emotional turmoil. In other words, we take life too seriously, especially when it comes to issues involving strong emotional content—like a spouse’s infidelity. Life’s journey is not traveled on a highway devoid of obstacles, pitfalls, and snares. Rather, it is a pathway marked by challenges and perseverance. Decisions are constantly before us. To make them wisely, courage is needed: the courage to say no, the courage to say yes. Decisions do determine destiny. The call for courage comes constantly to each of us. It has ever been so, and so shall it ever be. The battlefields of war witness acts of courage. Some are printed on pages of books or contained on rolls of film, while others are indelibly impressed on the human heart. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6

There are powerful forces in our lives much like the unseen currents of the ocean. These forces are real. We should never ignore them. Humor, like anything else, can be taken too far. Laughing off what bothers you can also be a way of denying your most troubling feelings. They key is to use humor as a tool for gaining perspective, not as a crutch. The other limitation of humor is that for people just learning to use humor as a perspective enhancer, certain situations do not seem to lend themselves to laughs, or even irony. Dr. Freud believed that the ability to create humor from our lives was one of the best ways people could triumph over tragedy. This has lead to people in modern times using sordid events—such as massacres, natural disasters, plane crashes, and like life—as fodder for the Monday-morning joke at the office (“Have you heard the one about…”) is a good example of how humor can help us cope with situations too terrible for us to fully comprehend. However, it is much wiser and better for people to accept the simple truths of the gospel and to accept by faith those things which one cannot understand. There are many currents in this Earthly life—some safe and others not. Mature adults, whose sense of self is typically much stronger than in earlier years, tend to be more secure, less likely to use humor to attack or manipulate than they may have in the past. Their senses of humor are fun-loving, principled, and self-deprecating rather than biting and hostile toward others. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6

If anyone has a lack of wisdom, ask of God, who gives to all people literally, and it shall be given to you. By asking sincere questions and by seeking divine answers, we learn as we increase in knowledge and wisdom, there is a divine source—one who knows all things, the end from the beginning. All things are present before God. The scriptures testify that God does not walk in crooked paths, neither does he vary from that which he has said. On this mortal journey we must never think that our choices affect only us. All-Ruler, Word of the Father, God, thou who art perfect, never in your great mercy leave us, but abide in us. Deliver us not to the revolt of the serpent and leave us not to the will of the adversary, do not let the seed of corruption rest in us. Lord, adorable God, Holy King, guard us asleep by the unwaning light, your holy spirit, by whom you did sanctify your disciples. Lord, grant us, your salvation on our beds. Enlighten our minds with the light of the understanding of your holy gospel. Enlighten our souls with your love. Enlighten our hearts with the purity of your word. Enlighten our bodies with your passionless passion. Keep our thoughts in your humility. And rouse us in good time to glorify you, for you art supremely glorified, with your eternal life, and your most holy spirit forever. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6