Decay, dissolution, erosion, entropy. We learn early in our education that the natural world's destiny is to dissolve and wear away. There is no stasis, no status quo, no standing still. There is only digression, degradation, disorder or progression, growth, creation.
Intuitively we know that destruction and decay are easier than building and organizing. Any two year old knows that building the tower of blocks is harder than knocking it down. What we do not seem to intuitively undertand is that the choice to create, build, organize—while more difficult—brings happiness and a kind of satisfaction that can only come by walking the uphill path. We conquer gravity with effort; we counter death by creating life; we defeat desolation by sewing seeds.
The simple acts of writing, drawing, doodling—while taking a modicum of effort—add something to the world. And in that minuscule toil, we rise. In opposing entropy we emulate the Maker, we learn to become more like Him, we earn the wages of creation. Then we can see what we have made and behold that it is good. (see Genesis 1:31)
Each one of us has talents allowing us to battle entropy. We can each, in our own way, access the power of our Creator by creating, building, growing, making, teaching, doing. I am grateful that He is so quick to reward my tiny efforts and bring satisfaction and peace to my heart as I try, in my infantile way, to act more like Him.
"Just as doubt, despair, and desensitization go together, so do fatih, hope, and charity. The latter, however, must be carefully and constantly nurtured, whereas despair, like dandelions, needs so little encouragement to sprout and spread." -Neal A. Maxwell, Oct., 1994.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lds.org/general-conference/1994/10/brightness-of-hope?lang=eng