Have you ever had one of those instances where you were so lucky that you were in the right place at the right time because something somebody said had significance in your life and you felt like you just needed to hear it? I had one of those “Aha moments” today at stake conference. One of the speakers made a very interesting analogy. He was talking about Pirates of the Caribbean and about Captain Jack Sparrow. He said that Jack’s compass served as something that was very near and dear to his heart, and he couldn’t bear to have it away from him. At first, we have no idea why this compass is so very important to him. We later findout, however, that this is no regular compass that shows north and south, but that it has a deeper meaning. This compass only points in one direction, and that is in the direction of the thing that Jack desires most. Captain Jack’s heart is set on the treasure, which is why the compass always has a way of pointing to the treasure.
The speaker made the comment that our heart lies with the things that we desire the most. In Jack Sparrow’s case, that is the treasure. But what about the rest of us, where do our hearts lie? In what direction do our compass’s point? Is it in a direction that will bring us closer to God? There is a quote by Gordon B. Hinckley that I really love that says, “You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence. And the good that is in you must be spread to others….”
A lot of times, best friends think they know EVERYTHING about one another. Everything isn’t just your favorite color or your favorite store to shop at. Those things don’t come anywhere close to truly knowing someone. And I’ve come to the conclusion that it is impossible for somebody else to know you, when you don’t even know yourself. I wasn’t able to begin to figure out who I was until my senior year of highschool, and I still am learning new things about myself on a daily basis. But I think that now, I can say with confidence that I at least know that my compass is pointing me in the right direction. Though sometimes we make mistakes and the material desires of our heart may lead us astray, you are always able to find your way back.
I know that I’m no expert, I’m only 18 years old, what do I know. But I do think that if you discover what direction you want to go in early on in life, that you will be so much better off. And then you will be able to enjoy life, being content with the person that you are, learning new things about yourself along the way. In a weird way, this topic reminds me of the song “Dark Blue” by Jacks Mannequin. This song completely confuses me, but make’s perfect sense to me at the same time. The lyrics say:
“I have, I have you breathing down my neck, breathing down my neck. I don’t, don’t know what you could possibly expect under this condition so I’ll wait, I’ll wait for the ambulance to come, ambulance to come pick us up off the floor. what did you possibly expect under this condition so slow down, this night’s a perfect shade of dark blue, dark blue, have you ever been alone in a crowded room, well i’m here with you. I said the world could be burning til there’s nothing but dark blue.”
And of course, all lyrics are open to our own interpretation, but my way of thinking of this is that when he says “I don’t know what you could possibly expect under this condition,” he’s trying to say that he’s confused and doesn’t exactly know where he’s going or who he is and it makes it even harder when everybody has such high expectations for you and they’re on your back trying to lead you in a million different directions. And you know that you’re going to make some mistakes because it’s life and nobody’s perfect, but sometimes you just need to slow down and take a look around you and not take the people and things in your life for granted. And that sometimes you will think that you’re all alone and that nobody understands, but there is always somebody who has gone through the same thing.
Hearing this talk today was huge for me. I’m so very thankful for the people in my life and the memories that I have made with them. Through the good experiences and the bad experiences that I’ve had in life, I wouldn’t trade them in for anything because they’ve all helped me develop into my own person, and that’s so important. Just this past month, situations came up that made me aware of certain things that will be of utmost importance sometime in the near future. I’m so very blessed to have this church in my life. It has helped me through so much and has been my source of comfort. It’s the one thing in my life that I know i can always depend on for that. And I’m so glad for the situations that I’ve gone through that have made me realize how very important the church is in other people’s lives, because it has made it that much more important in mine. And just to end with a quote, “It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.” – Agnes Repplier (:
Have thoughts on this? Tell me what you think (:
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