Story Prompt - Life Mottos

Oh, this is a tough one - something we often think about, but we don't always put in writing. What are some thoughts and phrases, that have molded you or directed your life's path?

Mine? At 19, and newly married, I was asked to teach a Relief Society class for the women's group in our church. I don't remember the lesson, but I ran across a phrase that I typed up, drew a flower around, and made copies of an a Xerox hand-copier to give to the women. It rang true to me, and has guided me.

"Sometimes we're so busy existing we forget to live."

When I think about turning down something, I often ask myself - am I doing so to exist or to live? In times of trials when I just want to push through the day, I ask myself the same; and days when I worry about the past or get anxious about the future, I remind myself that I've chosen to Live this life rather than Exist, and I get back to present, where anxiety and worry cannot exist.

Upon moving to Alabama with a young family, we were asked by my husband's boss, while we were showing him the small town we lived in, what our 5-year goals were. This happened to coincide with the time when Mission Statements were the big thing - "What is your family's/business's mission statement," was a hot question. We'd accomplished our goal - moving from our small northern Utah community clear across the US to Alabama to experience a world that was brand new. I wanted to enjoy this time, to live, rather than worry about what was next.

But he got me thinking. What was my mission statement? What was my 5-year goal? And mine became this, and has stayed with me ever since. I wake up trying to do this, go to bed at night evaluating my day based on this. This is a reflection of who I try to be every single day -

"Be Fair, Be True, Do No Harm."

And lastly, I love traveling, and on my first visit to another country, Holland, I found this post-card, "When I grow up I want to be a tourist." This reminds me that every where I go I can see the world, even my every day world, through the fresh eyes of a tourist. The view out my dining room window every morning and most evenings, of an ever-changing Mount Timpanogos, is a reminder that I have "tourist-worthy" views right here at home.