It becomes necessary

The Declaration of Independence spoke of the necessities faced by the Colonies. What are the necessities in my life?

My ancestors traveled the plains with an entire family’s worth of possessions in a covered wagon or handcart. Those are not that big. Just me alone was a whole Uhaul earlier this year. I wouldn’t make a very good pioneer. But every now and then it is good to sit down and think about what is really necessary in my life, what I really wouldn’t want to live without.

I have chocolate syrup as part of my food storage. If I’m poor and destitute and eating cracked wheat and beans, I’m going to want chocolate syrup to make it taste better. It’s a necessity, but I could live without it.

Twice now a person has come to my place and commented on the number of movies I have and that I must spend a lot of time watching movies. This completely baffles me. I have one small movie stand of movies on one wall. On the other wall I have four bookcases full of books, several shelfs stacked two deep. I could do without the movies, but don’t ask me to do without my books. I love reading. I love the feel of a book. I love the smell of new books, old ones too for that matter. Reading is a necessity in my life. I actually miss being able to go to the library at BYU. That was an amazing library. Unfortunately the one here just doesn’t compare. Reading is a necessity in my life.

Stemming from that is my education. I have worked hard to expand my mind. I am proud of what I have accomplished. Even if I weren’t still enrolled in school I would be looking for ways to continue to learn. Learning is a necessity in my life. And I love being able to share what I have learned with others, stretching our minds together.

I know things will all work out in the end. I have faith that everything will be for the best. I have faith in God and His love for me and His plan. I have faith in things I have only experienced with my heart. I cannot provide empirical evidence for these things. But I know them, just as strongly as I know that the sun came up this morning. Without that faith I would not be the person I am today. My faith is a necessity in my life.

With that faith, I also have an optimism that things will always work out for the best. I’d wager that more than half the time they don’t work out the way I wanted them to in the first place, but looking back, I can say that things have always worked out the way they were supposed to. There may have been moments where I felt despair or defeat, but they were only moments, and in the grand scheme of things, those moments are passing and fleeting. My outlook is a necessary part of who I am.

I am surrounded by some of the most amazing people to have ever walked the earth, my family and friends. Their influence, teachings, guidance, and support are necessary in my life.

And beauty. The beauty of creation, of the creations of my own hands, my sewing, photography, teachings; and of the creations of the world. There is little in this world that does not make me stop and wonder. The magnitude of stars in the sky. The cutting brilliance of lightning. The soft glow of a rainbow. Laughter. Tears. Love. The beauty of the human body, the heart, lungs, muscles, all of it working together in a perfection that cannot be matched. Using my body when I go running is often a spiritual experience for me as I push my body to where I thought the limits might be only to discover that my body was created better than I imagined. And to run out in the world, with the wind, rain, sun, passing me, it is beauty. Life requires beauty and wonder.

And I am blessed. I live. And I live in a land that allows me all of these things that are necessary, as well as many others.

Tonight I will watch the fireworks exploding in celebration of the Independence that was declared 232 years ago. And I will rejoice for all they stand for. But I’ll also enjoy them because fireworks are real cool. They are beautiful to the eyes. The sounds, the smells, feeling them. It’s a wonderful sensual experience, and one I can enjoy because of all the necessities in my life that have been met.