Redefining Life

Every so often you have one of those life defining moments where you realize the space you have been taking in this world just isn't cutting it. You look at the minutes and hours you have spent over the years and determine that some remodeling is long overdue. I guess the best comparison might be to say that you have been living in this little house because it is where you have always been, and then someone opens your eyes to the fact that your bank account can actually get you a mansion, with all of the luxuries to boot.

I am not talking about money. I am talking about the mental bank account. Sure, one thinks she is using it. I like to think that my mental budget is managed quite well. I turn off the radio whenever commercials come on because I don't need that garbage in my head. I listen to audio books, or language CDs, or some source of spiritual nourishment when I am not mentally plowing through some thrilling problem or analyzing some fact or event.

My mind is an amazing place - an exciting laboratory of new things, or better yet, a cutting edge research center. I am most uncomfortable when I am not mentally engaged. Mental engagement is more satisfying to me than sleep or food. In order to be at my best mentally, however, I need take time for exercise, food, and sleep. So why this need to redefine? I recently noticed that there are significant gaps in the scope of my mental universe.

There are pieces of knowledge that are useless, like looking at the pretty dress that Nicole Kidman wore at this year's award ceremony, or spending an hour wondering how women could possibly waste time and money on rump implants. There are moments that add up to hours of randomly searching for irrelevant bits of information online, or spending twenty minutes picking out the right color of lipstick. For those who know me, this is not my usual form of mental engagement, however, I look at these as leaks in a precious and valuable bank account.

I think I have wasted too much time on insignificance and unimportance, and need to stretch outside of this thin shelled dome of thoughts I have been satisfied with for so many years. There is so much more out there than I have ever taken the time to realize and learn. Here is to stretching, growing, expanding, and excavating the soul and the mind to take in more than ever before.

As 2 Ne 9:51 says, "Do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy." I think the same applies with time: Do not spend your time on that which is of no worth, nor your thoughts on that which cannot satisfy.