The Responsibility of Personal Influence

“There is one responsibility which no man can evade; that responsibility is his personal influence. Man’s unconscious influence is the silent, subtle radiation of personality – the effect of his words and actions on others. This radiation is tremendous. Every moment of life man is changing, to a degree, the life of the whole world. Every man has an atmosphere, which is affecting every other man.

“He cannot escape for one moment from this radiation of his character, this constant weakening or strengthening of others. Man cannot evade the responsibility by merely saying that it is an unconscious influence. Man can select the qualities he would permit to be radiated…and by these qualities he will constantly affect the world.

“This radiation, to which I refer, comes from what a person really is, not from what he pretends to be. Every man, by his mere living, is radiating either sympathy, sorrow, morbidness, cynicism, or happiness and hope or any one of a hundred other qualities. Life is a state of radiation and absorption. To exist is to radiate; to exist is to be the recipient of radiation.” -David O. McKay

I've been thinking about this quote lately. What do I radiate? Stress mostly, I'm sure. I know when I've been attending the temple regularly it really has a calming influence in my life. Without the temple I turn into Mommy Monster or the Witch Wife and I hate it. When I served as a missionary I always tried to keep a smile on my face because I wanted people to know that our religion makes us happy people.

Since I got home, I've gradually let that slide and too often my face reflects my momentary thoughts and stresses rather than my outlook on life and eternity. The funny thing is when I was a missionary and stressed or annoyed or disappointed, by pasting on a smile even when I wasn't feeling like it, that helped me remember eternal things and why I ultimately am a happy person. So this year one of my new year's resolutions was to "cultivate an unconscious smile." I forget frequently, especially when I'm driving and somebody has just cut me off (have you ever noticed most people look really grumpy or bland when they drive?) and my kids are crying in the back seat, but my lofty ambition is that by the end of the year I'll have developed that capacity to smile as an outward reflection of an inner peace. That can be developed in a year, right?

Soft and Absorbent

I'm a bit bothered by false advertising. What tipped this off for me is that the other day I was at Walmart and grabbed the cheapest toilet paper I could find - just something small to tide us over until I could go and get some at Costco. Now granted, I know that in buying the generic brand I'm obviously not purchasing for quality, but for heaven's sake this was ridiculous! On the front of the toilet paper package it advertises "Soft and Absorbent!" My poor little pampered bum was not prepared for the shock.

First of all, I was have never seen a two-ply that is as effective as a public restroom one-ply. Secondly, "soft" is not how I would describe the feel; it felt more like I was rubbing my backside on a tree trunk. I think I'm chapped. Thankfully, the roll is almost done and the rest will go in our emergency kits so we can start using the still cheap and yet actually soft and absorbent Kirkland brand!

The lesson to be taken from this is that I will never again trust what a company has to say about their product. I understand why companies do it, but the blatant lies just don't seem fair to the consumer. Though it doesn't really make sense for the company to advertise, "Soft as sandpaper and absorbent as tissue paper", I just think that they should adopt the strategy of if you can't say anything truthful, don't say anything at all!

I'm a blogger!

Yay me!  I have taken another step into the world of technology.  I am currently on Facebook, doing texting, and journaling online.  But now in addition to those things, my friend, Rebecca, has helped me set up my very own blog!  (Yes, it's a work in progress.)

So look forward to many dazzling, witty, and insightful posts... okay maybe not, but I'll do my best to at least copy parts of my journal entries and pictures of my boys and my husband and I to let all you family and friends know what we're up to.