Lingo

You know those quotes that just stick around forever? A typical quoting opportunity:

Stasia: “I can’t find my keys!”

Lexi: “That’s weird isn’t it.”

And then there’s a pause and some smiles. Everyone in earshot assumes their best Australian accent. All together now.

“My earliest memory of Australia... is the funny thing is I can’t actually remember it. That’s weird isn’t it.”

And then the key-looking can continue.

It becomes part of the lingo I guess.

Maria Zadori

I just wanted to say that if Mr. Mozart lived and died only so that Maria Zadori could sing Laudaute Dominum from ‘Versparae soleness de confessore’ with the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, then his life would still have been completely worthwhile. Is worthwhile the right word? Anyway, thank goodness he did live, did write it, and thank goodness she lived, and did sing it. Because it’s beautiful. If beauty had a definition, this would be it. You gotta listen to it. Everyone should – classical guru or no (and I’m a no, so there’s proof.) Mind you nobody can sing it like Maria. In fact, I'm not sure this piece of Mozart’s was actually complete until she came along.

Hail Maria Zadori.

Carrots

“All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them truly ours, we must think them over again honestly, till they take root in our personal experience." -Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Something like what Goethe was saying – this definitely is not an original thought. But why not add to the “thousands of times” it’s been thought about.

People don’t get addicted to reading the scriptures. When was the last time you heard someone say to you, “I just can’t stop myself from going to the temple?” Does a bishop ever help people control a compulsive desire to pray too much? I know that’s ridiculous, but hear me out. To illustrate, let’s say… carrots. You decide to start eating lots of carrots. Maybe you’re a rabbit – none of my business. But after weeks of eating lots of carrots everyday would you find it hard to stop? No! You might miss eating carrots, but you wouldn’t find yourself having to exercise a lot of self-control to keep yourself from the fridge. It’s the same with good habits. Why is that?

In the simplest terms – the very simplest terms – it seems to me that good things make you free. They make you free to choose more good and to stop doing good if you wanted. Not only does it keep you free to make choices, doing the good strengthens your desire to keep doing the good. The bad on the other hand, keeps you in bondage - as we like to put it. The deeper you find yourself in destructive habits the less free you become. It’s just harder to stop.

The Gospel is all about freedom – freedom to choose good from evil. But when we choose the “evil,” we lose our freedom to choose the good. When we choose the Gospel, not only have we chosen the good, we’re free to keep choosing the good. In other words, we’re free.

Isn’t that COOL?!

Keep eating your carrots.

“And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.” Mosiah 5:8

"He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you." Helaman 14:31

Bowls and Babblements

Guess what I learned today. Babblement is a word. Did you know that? Babblement. Which means ‘Precious Babblings’ is actually technically and positively grammatically incorrect. Boo!

Meanwhile I’ve been neglecting el Blog. But that’s because I haven’t written anything lately I care to share. Except for this one. I care to share this one. Last night I had some of this really… well you read it.

So the first bowl of this extremely rich coconut cream/black rice/mango blissful deliciousness that I ate a couple minutes ago was so delicious. Now how was the second bite of the second bowl. Ehhh. It was ‘Wow-it’s-not-very-good-anymore-hurry-and-eat-it-fast-because-it's-the-sickeningest-stuff-I-ever-had-but-hurry-before-you're-tempted-to-waste-it-and-can't-do-that-because-there-are-starving-wide-eyed-kids-in ethopia-who-would-kill-for-a-bowl-of-this-ehh-this-sickening-bowl-of--hurry-gross-okay-last bite-there-done-phew.’

You can have too much of a good thing. But really. The first bowl was delicious. :)

And that is my babblement.