He began with a description of how his wife cooks a beautiful, perfect meal, and inevitably apologizes for something she thinks is imperfect. He said that as women, he's noticed that we undervalue our abilities and focus on what is imperfect.
Guilty!
I often find myself feeling inadequate, discouraged, and weary, just as he mentioned. I know that these feelings are not healthy, and I loved his secret for dispelling feelings of gloom, depression, and sadness:
Create: Creation brings satisfaction. As a mother, we participate with God in creating and nurturing our children. The bounds of creativity extend beyond the brush on a canvas, keys of a piano, etc. It can be in your garden, laughter, etc. And it doesn't have to be perfect! Start small--see how many smiles you can create, write a letter, beautify a small space, cultivate the earth and your mind. The more you learn to trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater will be your ability to create.
Compassion: Succor the weak, strengthen the feeble needs, show compassion, follow the Savior, mourn with those that mourn, and our own lives are blessed as well. As we lift others, we rise a little higher ourselves. President Lorenzo Snow said, when you feel gloomy, find someone in a worse plight. Find out what their problem is, and try to make them feel better. You will find yourself feeling lighter. True words of encouragement require only a loving and caring heart. The number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of greater importance.
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