It's amazing what touch can do.
As the therapist works to ease
muscles warped by stress and pain
I am assailed by smells
of hot desert sand
juniper
and sagebrush
even though that sense has been lost
over forty years now.
It's amazing what sound will do
when the chords of a hymn
release warm memory
of star-filled sky when we sang
an exuberant anthem
of universal glory.
Song remembered over millennia of time
by hearts that hear.
karla freckleton burkhart
december 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Christmas
It's nice to have Christmas in the winter even though the birth was in the spring. We need something to celebrate in the dark time of the year and what could be better than to celebrate the Prince of Light?
In 1992 the Tabernacle Choir went to Israel. We left the morning of the 26th and were there until January 6 of 1993. Israel is an interesting place on many levels. We were making a video so we traveled to several spots but one very revealing spot was Shepherd's Field. We were taken to a place not usually visited by tourists so that we could film without spectators. I had always imagined the place as rolling green hills, a few trees, a peaceful place. Instead was steep, craggy, rocky hills with very little grass and only twisted, stunted trees.
Not the place familiar to imagination but when we stepped off the buses we all knew, without exception, we had been there before. Indeed, all mankind was there. We were the multitudes. When the choir sand that December day, the hills echoed all around and was heard up and down the valley.
With something as spectacular as angel song, why weren't more people aware? Simply because they weren't looking. Remember, there hadn't been any prophets for a long time. No one was reminding people of the signs of the Messiah's birth. Although, I'm sure there were a few sincere people, most were just looking at day to day life.
On this continent the prophets were telling of the wonders. Samuel was giving bulletins right up to the time of the birth. There were a lot of people in the know. Even those who were denying woke up to facts when the signs began. Nothing like losing a night and having a strange bright star to catch your attention if you're even slightly aware.
Yet, the star was also seen in Palestine. Why weren't they aware? And, are we aware today of the signs being given. You see, if people aren't looking spiritual signs, anything can be explained. And indeed, God does work by natural laws so I'm sure there are scientific explanations for today's signs. But, that does not make them any less valid.
The fact is, that a child was born. Not in a gentle environment where cleanliness prevailed and the mother was attended. But in a shelter where animals lived. A child grew. Not in a spacious home. Not even as nice a home as a very small home of today. But still, a home where he was taught and loved. It was a very poor family as evidenced by the custom of presenting the first born in the temple and giving a lamb as the passover sacrifice and a dove to signify peace. If the family was very, very poor, they could give two doves instead of a lamb. It's significant that Mary and Joseph did this. They were poor, alone, and unpopular. Jesus was always the lowest of the low. We are told that He descended below all. His whole life was like that.
He did all this willingly in love. Yet even today, people reject Him. DC 88:33.
When people reject the gift they are rejecting the very one who can give them life. They are rejecting once more the babe. Luke 1:7 says it was not just that there was no room in the inn but it says there was no room for them in the inn. They were rejected even at the time of the birth of our Lord.
When you have a very bad day, as we all do at times, remember, his days were always full of rejection and disappointment. He couldn't even be homesick – he had no home. He could have given up. He had the power. He never gave up. We must not give up. When we focus on the things that go wrong in our lives we are actually directing ourselves toward that goal. What we think determines what we do. So many of our mistakes are because of our own skewed perspective. We keep making mistakes, not because God wants us to be miserable but because we are directing our thinking to that result. We must program our minds to follow in His steps. we need to accept responsibility for whatever is going on in our life. If our experiences are based on thoughts and emotions we have chosen in the past, then we are responsible for our thoughts in the present. You are the one who thinks your thoughts. Your thoughts do not think you. Our Father gave us Choice and Accountability. It is up to us to fill our thoughts with the positive. His time on Earth was spent looking forward at eternity. We must focus the same way.
Our perception of something going wrong is just that, a perception, and that is all. It may be a misguided perception based on a lack of understanding or on false beliefs. In the bigger scheme of things, in God's perspective, Nothing EVER goes “wrong”. God does not make mistakes. He is not “out to get someone.” He does not have it in for anyone because they are bad. His creation is perfect and the goal of His creation never wavers. It is, has been, and always will be perfect, precise, and unfailing ALL the time. It is only when our wrong perceptions stir up emotions that attract circumstances that you perceive life as “going wrong.”
It is important that you express and recognize gratitude for the fact that everything in your life is a miracle and you are part of the creation of your life.
My perception of any event or circumstance is based on a memory of something in the past that I've stored subconsciously and that can be consciously changed if it is not in harmony with what I wish to accomplish.
A child was born. We can live in eternal joy if we really desire.
In 1992 the Tabernacle Choir went to Israel. We left the morning of the 26th and were there until January 6 of 1993. Israel is an interesting place on many levels. We were making a video so we traveled to several spots but one very revealing spot was Shepherd's Field. We were taken to a place not usually visited by tourists so that we could film without spectators. I had always imagined the place as rolling green hills, a few trees, a peaceful place. Instead was steep, craggy, rocky hills with very little grass and only twisted, stunted trees.
Not the place familiar to imagination but when we stepped off the buses we all knew, without exception, we had been there before. Indeed, all mankind was there. We were the multitudes. When the choir sand that December day, the hills echoed all around and was heard up and down the valley.
With something as spectacular as angel song, why weren't more people aware? Simply because they weren't looking. Remember, there hadn't been any prophets for a long time. No one was reminding people of the signs of the Messiah's birth. Although, I'm sure there were a few sincere people, most were just looking at day to day life.
On this continent the prophets were telling of the wonders. Samuel was giving bulletins right up to the time of the birth. There were a lot of people in the know. Even those who were denying woke up to facts when the signs began. Nothing like losing a night and having a strange bright star to catch your attention if you're even slightly aware.
Yet, the star was also seen in Palestine. Why weren't they aware? And, are we aware today of the signs being given. You see, if people aren't looking spiritual signs, anything can be explained. And indeed, God does work by natural laws so I'm sure there are scientific explanations for today's signs. But, that does not make them any less valid.
The fact is, that a child was born. Not in a gentle environment where cleanliness prevailed and the mother was attended. But in a shelter where animals lived. A child grew. Not in a spacious home. Not even as nice a home as a very small home of today. But still, a home where he was taught and loved. It was a very poor family as evidenced by the custom of presenting the first born in the temple and giving a lamb as the passover sacrifice and a dove to signify peace. If the family was very, very poor, they could give two doves instead of a lamb. It's significant that Mary and Joseph did this. They were poor, alone, and unpopular. Jesus was always the lowest of the low. We are told that He descended below all. His whole life was like that.
He did all this willingly in love. Yet even today, people reject Him. DC 88:33.
When people reject the gift they are rejecting the very one who can give them life. They are rejecting once more the babe. Luke 1:7 says it was not just that there was no room in the inn but it says there was no room for them in the inn. They were rejected even at the time of the birth of our Lord.
When you have a very bad day, as we all do at times, remember, his days were always full of rejection and disappointment. He couldn't even be homesick – he had no home. He could have given up. He had the power. He never gave up. We must not give up. When we focus on the things that go wrong in our lives we are actually directing ourselves toward that goal. What we think determines what we do. So many of our mistakes are because of our own skewed perspective. We keep making mistakes, not because God wants us to be miserable but because we are directing our thinking to that result. We must program our minds to follow in His steps. we need to accept responsibility for whatever is going on in our life. If our experiences are based on thoughts and emotions we have chosen in the past, then we are responsible for our thoughts in the present. You are the one who thinks your thoughts. Your thoughts do not think you. Our Father gave us Choice and Accountability. It is up to us to fill our thoughts with the positive. His time on Earth was spent looking forward at eternity. We must focus the same way.
Our perception of something going wrong is just that, a perception, and that is all. It may be a misguided perception based on a lack of understanding or on false beliefs. In the bigger scheme of things, in God's perspective, Nothing EVER goes “wrong”. God does not make mistakes. He is not “out to get someone.” He does not have it in for anyone because they are bad. His creation is perfect and the goal of His creation never wavers. It is, has been, and always will be perfect, precise, and unfailing ALL the time. It is only when our wrong perceptions stir up emotions that attract circumstances that you perceive life as “going wrong.”
It is important that you express and recognize gratitude for the fact that everything in your life is a miracle and you are part of the creation of your life.
My perception of any event or circumstance is based on a memory of something in the past that I've stored subconsciously and that can be consciously changed if it is not in harmony with what I wish to accomplish.
A child was born. We can live in eternal joy if we really desire.
Monday, November 29, 2010
This is the time of year when we are expected, almost commanded to be thankful. And we wish we could feel excited and full of gratitude 24/7. However, there are times we just have a hard time feeling it. Maybe we've been let down by someone we thought was there for us. Maybe the world gets in the way and financial problems overwhelm us. Maybe the physical just isn't what we expect. Maybe we feel alone in a crowd. Or maybe we are just so stressed and so completely tired we have trouble feeling anything at all.
I don't know about you, but I've been in all those places. Yes, even on our mission where one could expect maybe a little more “help”, I've felt deflated and lost and very, very tired.
Yet we are told, 'Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things' (D&C 59:7). All things means just that: good things, difficult things--not just some things. He has commanded us to be grateful because He knows being grateful will make us happy.
When you are in a sincere state of gratitude your energy is one of acceptance and harmony. Expressing Gratitude for any situation draws you to more of what you are expressing gratitude for.Any time we are not expressing gratitude we are in essence, focusing on NOT WANTING that outcome. Whenever we do that, we naturally move towards what we are focused on.
Athletes practice mentally, actors envision their role, what we think becomes what we do. Why then, don't we preprogram our minds for success?
You are the one who thinks your thoughts. Your thoughts do not think you. Our Father gave us Choice and Accountability. It is up to us to fill our thoughts with the positive.
Our perception of something going wrong is just that, a perception, and that is all. It may be a misguided perception based on a lack of understanding or on false beliefs. In the bigger scheme of things, in God's perspective, Nothing EVER goes “wrong”. God does not make mistakes. He is not “out to get someone.” He does not have it in for anyone because they are bad. His creation is perfect and the goal of His creation never wavers. It is, has been, and always will be perfect, precise, and unfailing ALL the time. It is only when our wrong perceptions stir up emotions that attract circumstances that you perceive life as“going wrong.”
It is important that you express and recognize gratitude for the fact that everything in your life is a miracle and you are part of the creation of your life. Perception becomes personal "fact" and may be quite different from actual fact. We have the ability to change our perceptions and aline our facts to be more what we need them to be. If we look as a day "lost and horrible" because we have some disappointment in our plans it is only our perspective that is off.
Obviously your perception that everything is wrong and the whole day lost is not right. However, based on your thought pattern and perception, the day is lost. Unless you are able to change that perception, you will have a horrible day. In fact, if you remain in this state, you will literally attract additional events, conditions and circumstances to you that will make certain that you have a horrible day. You may even pick a fight with the next person who has the audacity to speak to you. This is a classic case of ungratefulness. No silver lining.
God loves each of us unconditionally exactly the same and only gives us what we are asking for based on our frame of mind. The scriptures say, “As you sow, so shall you reap.” That applies to daily life. By learning to control our emotions and show gratitude every, single day we attract situations where gratitude is more easily felt. We can't control everything that is going on around us in our world but we can control our mind and our perceptions. We control how we react to the things that happen.
As Gordon B. Hinckley said in August of 1982, “Our society is afflicted by a spirit of thoughtless arrogance unbecoming those who have been so magnificently blessed. How grateful we should be for the bounties we enjoy. Absence of gratitude is the mark of the narrow, uneducated mind. It bespeaks a lack of knowledge and the ignorance of self-sufficiency. It expresses itself in ugly egotism.”
Make this holiday season what God would want it to be. Look for the blessings in each day. Aline your thinking with that of the Father who loves us all and to whom we dedicate this time of year.
I don't know about you, but I've been in all those places. Yes, even on our mission where one could expect maybe a little more “help”, I've felt deflated and lost and very, very tired.
Yet we are told, 'Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things' (D&C 59:7). All things means just that: good things, difficult things--not just some things. He has commanded us to be grateful because He knows being grateful will make us happy.
When you are in a sincere state of gratitude your energy is one of acceptance and harmony. Expressing Gratitude for any situation draws you to more of what you are expressing gratitude for.Any time we are not expressing gratitude we are in essence, focusing on NOT WANTING that outcome. Whenever we do that, we naturally move towards what we are focused on.
Athletes practice mentally, actors envision their role, what we think becomes what we do. Why then, don't we preprogram our minds for success?
You are the one who thinks your thoughts. Your thoughts do not think you. Our Father gave us Choice and Accountability. It is up to us to fill our thoughts with the positive.
Our perception of something going wrong is just that, a perception, and that is all. It may be a misguided perception based on a lack of understanding or on false beliefs. In the bigger scheme of things, in God's perspective, Nothing EVER goes “wrong”. God does not make mistakes. He is not “out to get someone.” He does not have it in for anyone because they are bad. His creation is perfect and the goal of His creation never wavers. It is, has been, and always will be perfect, precise, and unfailing ALL the time. It is only when our wrong perceptions stir up emotions that attract circumstances that you perceive life as“going wrong.”
It is important that you express and recognize gratitude for the fact that everything in your life is a miracle and you are part of the creation of your life. Perception becomes personal "fact" and may be quite different from actual fact. We have the ability to change our perceptions and aline our facts to be more what we need them to be. If we look as a day "lost and horrible" because we have some disappointment in our plans it is only our perspective that is off.
Obviously your perception that everything is wrong and the whole day lost is not right. However, based on your thought pattern and perception, the day is lost. Unless you are able to change that perception, you will have a horrible day. In fact, if you remain in this state, you will literally attract additional events, conditions and circumstances to you that will make certain that you have a horrible day. You may even pick a fight with the next person who has the audacity to speak to you. This is a classic case of ungratefulness. No silver lining.
God loves each of us unconditionally exactly the same and only gives us what we are asking for based on our frame of mind. The scriptures say, “As you sow, so shall you reap.” That applies to daily life. By learning to control our emotions and show gratitude every, single day we attract situations where gratitude is more easily felt. We can't control everything that is going on around us in our world but we can control our mind and our perceptions. We control how we react to the things that happen.
As Gordon B. Hinckley said in August of 1982, “Our society is afflicted by a spirit of thoughtless arrogance unbecoming those who have been so magnificently blessed. How grateful we should be for the bounties we enjoy. Absence of gratitude is the mark of the narrow, uneducated mind. It bespeaks a lack of knowledge and the ignorance of self-sufficiency. It expresses itself in ugly egotism.”
Make this holiday season what God would want it to be. Look for the blessings in each day. Aline your thinking with that of the Father who loves us all and to whom we dedicate this time of year.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Season Change
The summer and fall have been so wonderful and full of beauty it is hard for me to see the season change. However, change it must and today is much colder with a skiff of snow on the lawn. I wish I could say my garden was ready for winter. I do have the potatoes in and the cucumbers got nipped some time ago, but the tomatoes! This has been tomato year and I have been much too busy with the mission to keep up. I'm sure there are numberless globes of yellow, orange, and red out there on the verge of freezing if not already frozen. Plus, there are countless green tomatoes that, normally, I would create yummy creations from but this year will be wasted.
Even though much of the bounty of the earth under my stewardship has gone to waste this year, I hope and pray that the bounty of our mission service has not. We have met such wonderful people and have come to love them all dearly. Some have moved away and not kept in touch. Some have returned to church and happy activity. Some are still dragging their feet saying they should do it and someday, maybe. Some like us to come for the visit but have no intention of changing their lives.
And that is the crux of the matter -- change. How many of us really like change anyway? We settle into a comfort nest and even though there may be sticks and stones that trip us and poke us we wedge ourselves in and figure that is as good as it gets. Then, when someone wants us to move out of our comfort nest, we resist. They may tell us how much more comfortable, how much more satisfying the new spot will be but we are so settled in our space that it is hard to imagine. Plus, we've made friends with those in our vicinity. If we leave, will anyone else like us the same as they have? Often it is friends that keep us in our place. Often it's friends that keep us from rising above like crabs in a pot, we pull each other back.
So I look out the window today and wonder what I'll do about the new weather outside. Then I'll go find warmer clothes and get ready for the day.
Even though much of the bounty of the earth under my stewardship has gone to waste this year, I hope and pray that the bounty of our mission service has not. We have met such wonderful people and have come to love them all dearly. Some have moved away and not kept in touch. Some have returned to church and happy activity. Some are still dragging their feet saying they should do it and someday, maybe. Some like us to come for the visit but have no intention of changing their lives.
And that is the crux of the matter -- change. How many of us really like change anyway? We settle into a comfort nest and even though there may be sticks and stones that trip us and poke us we wedge ourselves in and figure that is as good as it gets. Then, when someone wants us to move out of our comfort nest, we resist. They may tell us how much more comfortable, how much more satisfying the new spot will be but we are so settled in our space that it is hard to imagine. Plus, we've made friends with those in our vicinity. If we leave, will anyone else like us the same as they have? Often it is friends that keep us in our place. Often it's friends that keep us from rising above like crabs in a pot, we pull each other back.
So I look out the window today and wonder what I'll do about the new weather outside. Then I'll go find warmer clothes and get ready for the day.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
A special baptism day
We had the opportunity of attending a very special baptism. It was one the sister missionaries were in charge of. Elder Bednar had befriended the man and so did the baptism, confirmation, and spoke at the service. He was so gracious he even had pictures taken with the missionaries.
Please Don't End Summer!
School starts next week, officially ending summer. I'm afraid for the end of summer, not as much for myself, although I dread even the thought of winter, but for all the children I see who never had a real summer vacation.
Kids now seldom get to roam through woods and fields unsupervised. Many don't have a good climbing tree close at hand.
One of our favorite past times was to go to the school playground and play on the tower. I don't know or care what the real name was but it was a tall pole, taller than a house with chains hanging down all around from a disk at the top. The chains had two handles one above the other at the bottom. The purpose was to hang onto the handles, run around the pole, and swing. What we did was take turns being the “flyer”. Everyone would wind the chains around the pole except the flyer. The others would pass under that chain so that it stayed on top of the wound up chains. Then everyone would start running in a circle. The result would pick up the outside person and send them in a parallel orbit about 25 feet in the air. Of course, you held on with everything you had, to avoid being launched like a frisbee.
Funny, I never heard of anyone getting launched but eventually the tower was taken out because of safety fears. The teeter-totters, merry-go-round, and all the other really fun equipment were also taken out. Now the playgrounds are surfaced and we hear all the time of kids getting hurt. When they were dirt, you expected to get hurt and to be tough.
We all went bare-foot in the summer and had feet like shoe-leather. We rode bikes bare-foot without helmets. That meant that often we had very skinned toes but, that was just the way it was.
We swam in creeks with no life-guard. The only “sun block” was a tree. Turning bright red and peeling was to be expected.
Now kids play much safer games and I worry. When do they really have summer fun?
Kids now seldom get to roam through woods and fields unsupervised. Many don't have a good climbing tree close at hand.
One of our favorite past times was to go to the school playground and play on the tower. I don't know or care what the real name was but it was a tall pole, taller than a house with chains hanging down all around from a disk at the top. The chains had two handles one above the other at the bottom. The purpose was to hang onto the handles, run around the pole, and swing. What we did was take turns being the “flyer”. Everyone would wind the chains around the pole except the flyer. The others would pass under that chain so that it stayed on top of the wound up chains. Then everyone would start running in a circle. The result would pick up the outside person and send them in a parallel orbit about 25 feet in the air. Of course, you held on with everything you had, to avoid being launched like a frisbee.
Funny, I never heard of anyone getting launched but eventually the tower was taken out because of safety fears. The teeter-totters, merry-go-round, and all the other really fun equipment were also taken out. Now the playgrounds are surfaced and we hear all the time of kids getting hurt. When they were dirt, you expected to get hurt and to be tough.
We all went bare-foot in the summer and had feet like shoe-leather. We rode bikes bare-foot without helmets. That meant that often we had very skinned toes but, that was just the way it was.
We swam in creeks with no life-guard. The only “sun block” was a tree. Turning bright red and peeling was to be expected.
Now kids play much safer games and I worry. When do they really have summer fun?
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