Moderation

This week I’ve learned the value of moderation. Before school started, I was practically dying of boredom. At that time, I wanted nothing more than to have homework to do, because at least it was something to break the monotony of long summer days. Then school started, and all of the sudden my wish seemed rash. Suddenly life was all about trying to minimize the amount of homework I was doing, and trying to keep from over scheduling so that I had that elusive idea we call “free time”. Well, this past week school was out, and I traveled with my family down to St. George to enjoy the sunshine and a homework-free environment. And suddenly the boredom was back.

                This experience of constantly waffling back and forth between two opinions has got me thinking. It would be so easy to pin my happiness on the accomplishment of one or the other objectives. I could easily say “once school ends, then I’ll be happy because I’ll have time to do what I want to do.” I could also say the opposite once the summertime blues sinks in. I believe the key to happiness is not constantly dreaming about the future,  but rather enjoying the moment by handling all things in moderation. Vacation activities are awesome, but only if they are deserved because of hard work. I have a mission friend who once said: "Doing nothing is the hardest work of all, because one can never stop to rest. Without work, rest and relaxation have no meaning.” I love his train of thought. Only through moderation can we truly enjoy life to it’s fullest. I’m determined to continue to work hard when it’s time to work, and to play hard when it comes time to play.