Stop Monkeying Around

When I was in junior high school I received a book and journal gift set by Elaine Cannon. The book that came in the set was a collection of short essays and thoughts on a variety of subjects. One quote from that book has been a strong influence on me:

Mark Van Doren wrote:

There is one thing we can do, and the happiest people are those who do it to the limit of their ability. We can be completely present. We can be all there. We can control the tendency of our minds to wander from the situation we are in toward yesterday, toward tomorrow, toward something we have forgotten, toward some other place we are going next. It is hard to do this, but it is harder to understand afterward wherein it was we fell so short. It was where and when we ceased to give our entire attention to the person, the opportunity before us.

In my memory Elaine Cannon went on from that quote to apply the concept to the daily life of a teenage girl. When I pulled the book out, though, I found that what I remember as being part of the book were actually my own thoughts on the subject, because that essay doesn't expand on the quote the way I remember it. So my teenage thoughts on being present were this:

• Don't just hang out with friends - cultivate friendships.
• Don't just sit in class at school - apply your mind to learning.
• Don't daydream during sacrament meeting - seek the spirit.
• Don't just say your prayers - communicate with your Heavenly Father.
• Don't put in an hour at the piano - progress in your ability.

I got a lot done during those teenage years, and I get a lot done now. However, as much as I have been motivated by the idea of being present, sometimes I struggle with it. For example, when Jaclyn was 3 years old I read the book Nurtured by Love by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki. I really liked Dr. Suzuki's philosophy toward talent education, and I decided it was something I wanted for my children. As I looked into Suzuki piano lessons, I found out that a local college offered Suzuki teacher training classes in the summer, and I decided to audit the course. I was telling a friend of mine about it, and she asked me why didn't I actually register for the course. I told her that it would cost a little more money, and that I'd have to prepare an audition tape to apply as a participant. She reminded me about my commitment to being present when she said, "If you're going to spend the time, you might as well get the credit." I practised the piano, made the audition tape, and achieved my level 1 Suzuki teacher training.

I got another reminder of my commitment to be 'present' from a quote on someone's blog. (I hate it when I can't reference a source - please comment if this was your blog and I'll edit this paragraph!) The quote gave me just the nudge I needed to get me out of lurking and into blogging:

"It is weak and despicable to go on wanting things and not trying to get them." -Joanna Fields

And that is basically the story of my URL: Stop Monkeying Around. Be present.

It was Stacy's blog! I'm so glad to have that question answered!