I also like how each year the Light the World campaign just gets better and better.  Just when I think there’s no way next year can be better, next year comes along and proves me wrong.  The Church always finds a way to take it to the next level, and this year is no exception.  This year, the tradition gets a whole lot simpler.  And the simple truth is the world needs your light.

I just love that emphasis for the tradition this year.  Typically there is a calendar with a suggested activity for each day.  This year, it’s all about sharing the light of Christ that all of us have within us.  You share the light within you because the world needs your light.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I thought the calendars from previous years were great.  I loved them.  But I find myself loving this shift to emphasize individual initiative even more.  Part of that is from the highlight of “25 Days of Kindness.”  There is a beauty in the simplicity of not having everyone be part of some program but rather recognizing and sharing the seemingly small acts of kindness all around each one of us.

I say seemingly small intentionally.  What may seem small to us can make all the world of difference to others.  Too often we discount our own power to influence for good because in our own eyes we don’t measure up to whatever (often impossible) standard we adopt for ourselves.  But you don’t have your light just because it can dispel the darkness for someone.  You have your light because it will dispel the darkness for someone.  The world needs your light.

I also love how this year the Church combines a simpler emphasis with a notched-up professional production.  The video they made to introduce the campaign this year is really top class.  That’s not to say videos from previous years weren’t great.  There just seems to be a professional grade quality that’s next level up from last year.

And the upgrade in quality isn’t just in the professional look and feel of the video.  It’s also in the emphasis on seemingly small yet simple ways of letting your light shine.  We don’t see anyone in the video doing anything grandiose.  They’re doing what anyone can do.  And the difference that light makes to those who receive it is evident.  Again, the world needs your light.

We spend far too much time focused on reasons not to give and not to influence for good.  We convince ourselves we can’t make a difference.  We doubt ourselves and the ability we all really do have to dispel the darkness in the lives of others.

Yet if we reflect on the real reason for the season, we can realize that He never concerned Himself with how His actions would or wouldn’t be received.  His approach was simple.  He just gave.  When it came to kindness, He just was.  When we follow that example and simply give, we can lift our light higher and let it shine in a world growing ever more dark.

Yes, the world needs your light.  You were given gifts and talents so that you could offer others the light they need.  You don’t need a lot to make a lot of difference.  You just need to give and let your light shine.  In so doing, you’ll help others remember the real reason for the season.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

Starting with gratitude simply promotes an extra portion of power.  That’s especially true of giving.  Indeed, true giving begins with gratitude.  As we discussed recently, the more grateful you are, the more you will have, and the more you have, the more you can give.  You can truly light the world when with gratitude you share your gifts from God with others.

We often think of gifts being highly prized and desirable attributes or skills.  So it’s not that surprising when some of us who don’t have those highly prized and desirable attributes or skills feel we don’t have any gifts.

That’s of course not true.  I don’t care who you are or where you’re from.  Everyone has gifts from God.  We all have talent for something.  When we exercise our talents, executing the necessary action just seems to flow more easily, even if we lack specific training.  God gave talents to everyone so we all can contribute positively to others’ lives.

I’m convinced we each have multiple talents from God.  Often, they aren’t what we’d think of as talents.  I once knew a sister missionary whose smile was so infectious you couldn’t help but feel a little better when her smile shone upon you.  Another friend was a really good listener.  We don’t normally think of smiling and listening as talents, and yet I would submit they qualify.

What talents do you have from God?  What gifts has He given you that make your contribution to the lives of others unique?  Reflect on those gifts for a moment and simmer in gratitude for them.

Of course, we share some gifts from God in common.  Again, I don’t care who you are or where you are from.  God has blessed each of us not only with gifts unique to each one of us but also with gifts we share in common.

The first such gift is the greatest gift of God — the gift of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  He is the reason for the season precisely because He is the greatest gift.  Through Him, we all have the opportunity to repent and to live forever with God and those we most love.  Through Him we all have the power to acquire the fulness of not just our spiritual potential but every other potential as well, be that emotional, intellectual, or physical.

Unfortunately, that gift too often goes unappreciated, as does the second greatest gift from God — agency.  Every moment, we get to choose for ourselves what we’ll think, say, and do — and with that what we’ll become.  Between our Advocate with the Father and our agency, we have the essentials to become our best selves, live our best life, and achieve the fulness of our potential.  Yet too often we don’t even consider these gifts as the gateways to greatness they are.

Don’t let that be you.  Take a moment to reflect and meditate on these wonderful gifts and the opportunities they make possible in your life.  Marinade your soul in gratitude for your gifts from God.

But it’s not just enough to feel gratitude.  You must share it as well!  Otherwise, the circle won’t be complete.

What does that mean?  Gratitude is an emotion for what has come into your life.  You then decide what you will send out to others.  What you send out will come back to you again, even when that something is nothing; if you send nothing out, you won’t get anything back again.  But when you send out something — say, gratitude, for instance — you will find it later returned to you.

Whatever your gifts from God, take time to reflect on them, feel gratitude for them, and then share that gratitude with others.  You’ll find more reason to celebrate the season while moving yourself closer to becoming your best self and living your best life.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

But then as I thought about it, I began to see I needed to see this differently.  I’m not knocking the Light the World calendar.  If you want to do that, that’s great.  I just think I need to focus more on what I can give than on what I have received.  I think I need to be that shining star for someone else rather than showcase what someone else has been for me.

Yeah, I get it.  Like I said, I’m not knocking the Light the World calendar or anything like that.  It’s all good and, like I said, if you want to do it, then do it.  There’s a lot of good that can come from that.

But when I turn the consideration away from what others have done or will do and towards what I will do, I feel I need a different focus.  It’s not hard for me to see that producing Joy in the Journey Radio has helped me undergo a transformation.  I’m not the same man I was last year, and next year I won’t be the same man I am this year.

What’s happened?  What’s changed?  And what’s driven that change?  I think the essence of it is simply that I’m becoming more of the man that God wants me to be.  And that man is a man who spends his days serving others, helping others, and inspiring others to become the men and women God wants them to be.  I think that man is a man devoted to helping others along the covenant path of eternal progression.

And when I say that, I’m not just talking about the spiritual.  I’m talking about the total package — the physical, the emotional, and the mental/intellectual as well as the spiritual.  That’s because I think God wants each of us to become the total package.

Don’t misunderstand me.  I’m not suggesting we all become identical clones of some unrealistic ideal.  Your total package may not be the same as my total package.  But your total package represents the fulfillment of your potential just as my total package represents the fulfillment of my potential.

And that’s really the whole idea behind why we’re here.  The whole intent of our Heavenly Father’s plan is for us to achieve the fullness of our potential.  Coming here to this fallen mortal world and having experiences in mortality allow us to take important steps along that path towards achieving our full potential.

That’s what the covenant path of eternal progression really is.  That’s what becoming the total package really is.  It’s all just a series of steps that each help us to become more of that man or woman we can and should be.

I’m not going to become the man I can and should be unless I turn my focus to giving.  I need to do more of what the man I can become would do in order to become that man.  I need to be that shining star for others because that’s what the man I can and should become is.

Again, I’m not knocking the Light the World calendar.  And hey, if you really need to do that in order to become the man or woman you need to become, then I say go for it.  Pour your whole self into it.  Whatever your potential is for you, pour your whole self into it and embrace the transformation.

For many of us, I think that transformation will come when we decide to be the shining star for others.  When we decide to hold up our light, others are both inspired to come out of the dark and given permission to hold up their own light.  When they do, that will inspire others and give them permission to do the same.  When we each decide to be the shining star we need to be, we can truly light the world.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.

The suggested action for today carries the title “Let Your Love Shine” and encourages tagging three loved ones with a “top 3 things I love about you” message and invitation to do likewise.  The three I wish to highlight don’t use social media, but I’ll highlight them all the same because I believe you can’t best feel your love until you let your love shine.

First on my list is my cat Tashi.  She died about eight years ago as unexpectedly as she’s impacted my life since.

Last weekend while speaking with a friend grieving the recent death of her cat, I shared how I still feel Tashi with me, even though she hasn’t been with me physically for over eight years.  That’s the first thing I love about Tashi.  Our relationship was so strong I still feel her with me despite her death.  Hearing my experience seemed to comfort my friend, suggesting perhaps she too could experience something similar.

Tashi knew how to comfort me.  She’d waltz into my lap as I sat discouraged, seat herself against me, and then look up at me as though saying, “How can you be sad when I’m here?”  It amazes me she never failed to do that when I needed it.

And she was such a character.  I remember one Christmas when she chose her stocking for the fireplace that year.  It’s a humorous story I’ll detail later in the program.

My mother’s the second of my top three.  I’ve spoken about her before, most recently when I surprised her for her birthday.  Her condition has since worsened, but my love for her hasn’t.

My mother always thought constantly of her children.  Every day she worked hard for our benefit.  I remember one morning thinking I could delay my usual departure for the school bus.  My mother called out a reminder to get going.  But I delayed, missed the bus, and walked back in shame to confront my mother.  Predictably upset, she still drove me to school.

I love how that support was constant.  Years later I was preparing to return to campus after the holidays to finish my master’s program.  Just before I left, my mother and I knelt in prayer.  I still remember her prayer for me, and it was the memory of that prayer that gave me the strength I needed to finish my program.  She’s always supported me through the years.

And I love that my mother taught me life skills, especially cooking.  I can’t list all the times having that knowledge has helped me, but I can list teaching me how to cook among the many ways she’s blessed my life.

Then there’s Uncle Darryl.  He’s actually my great great uncle.  I never knew him well, but he’s had a profound influence on me.

I love that influence, especially the respect it engenders for veterans.  Uncle Darryl’s WWII experience left him so traumatized he couldn’t talk about some things for the rest of his life.  His sacrifice in defense of freedom lasted some 65 years.

I also loved his welcoming nature.  I could always come by unannounced, and he’d stop and entertain my visit.  What an example of gifting love through attention!  And he always seemed sincerely interested in me, even towards the end as his faculties slipped.

I won’t be tagging anyone since none of these three loved ones use social media.  But I love them each.  And I love the Lord Who blessed me with love from them and many others.  Letting my love shine for them today is a small gift I can give in return.

If you haven’t given that small gift today to three loved ones in your life, take a moment now and let your love shine.  You’ll feel more of the essence of the Christmas season.  You’ll invite others to embrace that spirit in following the Lord Whose expressions of love provide the reason for the season.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

Of course, the answer is of course.  Life has meaning when we fill it with what’s meaningful.  These are the best things in life — the people we love, the places we’ve been, and the memories we’ve made along the way.  And it’s because of Christ we can have these joys now and always.  Recognizing the true reason for the season helps us enjoy the best things in life all year round.

When we celebrate Christ’s birth, we really celebrate our Heavenly Father’s plan.  The birth of Christ into this world demonstrates God’s love as He fulfilled His purposes.  He provided the Savior Who made it possible for all of us to return to our eternal home.

Christ also made possible eternal families, both the family we have known and the family we have yet to know.  Not only can we spend eternity with God in His home, but all our loved ones can too, never more to be parted.

These promises become all the more precious to me when I think of my sweet mother.  After a lifetime of numerous medical challenges, dementia now drives her decline towards her mortal end.  With my father approaching the point at which he can no longer care for her, my mother could move next week into a special care facility.  I remain thankful to God that she was my mother, that I have many sweet memories of her, and that He sent His Son to make it all possible.

The Lord’s hand has also attended me in my travels.  He protected me both before and during my mission.  He guided me after I returned home.  And His hand has sustained me traveling across the country.

I remember the first cross-country trek I made alone by car.  When my car broke down in the middle of the Wyoming desert, to whom could I turn?  I had only God to rely upon.  And He helped me.

Two years ago, I made a similar trek going back the other way.  Long time audience members will remember the story I shared.  When my car again experienced trouble, it felt as though angels were lifting the car on all sides and propelling it forward.  The Lord’s hand was upon me.

The Lord also blessed me in less desperate moments.  I recall one Christmas in which I lived near my folks.  I left for home a little after sunrise with a back seat full of Christmas presents.  I drove a little slower because of the snow and potential ice.  No one else was about at that hour, and I recall thinking as I drove amidst the peaceful wintery scene how blessed I was to have that moment and make the memories I was about to make.

I’ve made plenty of other memories through the years.  Most of them have been good ones.  And I thank the Lord He’s blessed me with them.

I remember several years ago planning a special Christmas breakfast for my mother.  She loves blueberries, and so I made a blueberry french toast casserole.  She’d never made anything like that before, and frankly neither had I.  But it hit the spot with her so much that a second helping wasn’t enough.  She went to the kitchen and began eating what was left in the pan.  It didn’t bother me; I was just happy helping her to be happy.  Today I thank the Lord for that and many other precious memories.

We should all thank the Lord for the people we love, the places we’ve been, and the memories we’ve made.  These are the best things in life, and the Lord Jesus Christ makes all of it possible.  This year, as you celebrate the birth of the Master, may you thank Him for the people you love, the places you’ve been, and the memories you’ve made.  You’ll feel more of His love and peace that characterizes the Christmas season.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

But in reflecting upon my situation, I’ve come to realize my faulty assumption.  I’ve been assuming I can find peace only outside myself.  I want to get away from the fighting that fills our communities.  I want to escape the turbulence of these troubled times.  I want to resolve the circumstances outside myself that I’ve erroneously connected with how I feel inside myself.

But peace doesn’t come from outside ourselves.  Peace comes from within.  As a popular song teaches, let there be peace, and let it begin with me.  When we take proper action, we can have peace within even though the world around us has anything but.

Your focus determines your reality.  So when you change your focus, you change your realty.  When you change the way you think, you change your life.

All of us can create a reality of peace in our lives when we focus on what brings peace.  And the ultimate source of peace is the Prince of Peace.  He suffered our pains and troubles so that He would know how to be compassionate in our hour of need.  He died so that we could live.

That life Christ gives isn’t just eternal life in the realm beyond the veil.  He gives life here and now in mortality.  He can lighten our load and light the way before us.  He can lift us when we are low.  He can give hope amidst despair.  But in order to make His lift, His light, and His love our reality, we must focus upon Him.

The Christmas spirit of peace lives in us when we increase our discipleship to the Prince of Peace.  It’s when we ignore His teachings or turn our focus away from the weightier matters of covenant living that we bring ourselves the opposite of peace.  Aligning our will with His brings a harmony with truth that makes our hearts a natural home for peace.

And only when we have peace within ourselves can we effectively promote peace outside ourselves.  Only a continued walk after the Prince of Peace can inspire others to follow His enlightened example and find peace within themselves.

But deep, lasting peace never comes from just going through the motions.  Just as true happiness comes from giving yourself to all the right things for you, deep, lasting peace comes only when you align yourself with all the right things for you.

Of course you should strive to keep the commandments and your covenants.  Those things are right for everyone.  But beyond the standards reside what’s right for each of us individually — goodness related to your personal ministry and the contribution only you can make in the lives of others.

When you give yourself to those right things that only you can do, you promote peace.  You become a city shining on a hill giving goodness, light, and love to an increasingly darkened world desperately in need.  And that peace you bring to others can bring greater peace to you as well.

You can’t really share with others what you yourself don’t have.  It all starts where the song says it starts.  Let there be peace.  And let it begin with me.

Peace comes from within, so let each of us align ourselves with God.  Let each of us be true to our covenants.  Let each of us give what only we can give.  Let each of us focus on Christ and feel the peace that comes from following after the Prince of Peace.

Then let us all go forward and share that peace with others.  Let us light their lives.  Let us give them hope.  Let us lighten their load.  Let there be peace.  And let it begin with me and you.  We will find a peace we have never before known when we cultivate peace within our own hearts like we have never before done.  And doing that will bring us more joy in our journey.

My friend and I served in the same mission — in the same district, in fact.  She and her companion were from Honduras.  As my companion was also from Honduras, I got dragged into a small circle of Honduran expats serving the Lord across the border.

We all got along famously, but this particular sister and I really hit it off.  We never broke any mission rules; we were completely appropriate in our interactions.  And yet we each felt there was something special about each other.

I was in my last area when we met, and so before long the time came for me to go home.  I had a wool blanket that had served me well but would not fit into any of my luggage.  I had no choice but to leave it behind.  I could have just left it for some future elder, but I chose instead to gift it to this sister.  I remembered her remarking at our last district meeting how cold she was at night, and I felt prompted to gift her the blanket.

She received my surprise gift with great joy.  And now all these years later, I’ve received her surprise gift with great joy this Christmas season as we have reconnected.

We kept in contact after I returned home.  These were days when cellular phones were the size of bricks and email, though not new, was still in its infancy.  And so our communication occurred through handwritten letters.

Because the postal system in many Latin American countries is unreliable, the Church made arrangements to organize its own postal service for missionaries called POUCH.  (I’m sure that’s an acronym or has some significant meaning, but don’t ask me to know it, because I couldn’t tell you.)  Though I was no longer a full-time missionary, she still was.  And so POUCH worked out great.

We kept writing letters through POUCH after she returned home.  Now neither one of us were full-time missionaries.  For some reason, our letters continued to get exchanged, but it wasn’t to last.  Eventually, my last letter was returned with a notice written on the outside of the envelope to use the regular postal service.

I totally understood.  Using this system for missionaries while we weren’t missionaries put the whole system at risk of being shut down.  And if you’ve served a mission, you know how important mail can be for maintaining motivation and morale.  So I wasn’t going to argue.  But I did miss my friend and the joy I felt in reading her letters.

Now imagine my joy to see a Facebook message from that same friend after all these years.  We quickly learned about each other’s careers in the intervening years.  We shared stories about COVID and how the church has responded in each of our home countries.  And we relived the joy of friendship we shared all those years ago.  We picked up so well it was as though we had never lost contact.

Yes, miracles still happen.  And what better time for a miracle than the Christmas season?  This unexpected but warmly welcomed gift fills my heart with gratitude not only for my Christmas miracle but also for the greatest Christmas miracle of all.  As the source of all good, He is everything.  We have nothing without Him.

And so as we #LightTheWorld this Christmas season, let us open our hearts to the miracles that can unfold in our own lives.  Miracles still happen, both during Christmas and all year round.  When you open yourself to possibility and give freely to others, sooner or later others will give freely to you.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

And speaking of videos, there on the main Light the World web page you can find the latest Nativity video from the Church.  This is an expansion of the clips that the Church released last year into a short film lasting around 18 minutes.  I’m glad I had a box of tissues nearby when I watched it.  I was so overcome with emotion, especially near the end when the three wise men and their cohort kneel before the boy Jesus.  It is hands down the absolute best depiction of the Nativity story I have ever seen.

I won’t belabor this because, as the best program the Church has offered yet, it is quite simply self-explanatory.  So learn more about the Church’s latest effort, and then decide how you will share the light of Christ this Christmas season.  Whether you participate in the Church’s Light the World campaign or you embrace your own effort, you can add your contribution to that of others all over the world in helping others to feel our Savior’s love this Christmas season.  Together we can light the world one by one.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.

Christmas was yesterday, so yes, it’s technically over.  But reflecting on my experience this year leaves me wanting something of the essence of Christmas to linger and continue into the coming year.

This past Sunday my bishop shared a few remarks at the end of the ward Christmas program.  He recognized some in the congregation were friends of other faiths, and he spoke for a moment specifically to them.  He acknowledged some recent changes in the Church, particularly the new meeting schedule starting next year.  And then he promised that those who would faithfully attend our worship services each Sunday would find peace for at least that one hour.

In reflecting upon his words, I realize what many of us really want in our lives is peace.  We want to get away from the fighting that fills our communities.  We want to escape the turbulence troubled times give to us and those we love most.  We want to remove the frustrating circumstances life can provide.  We all want peace.

As a popular song teaches, let there be peace, and let it begin with me.  When we take the proper action inside ourselves first and then promote peace in others, we can have peace in our lives, regardless of our circumstances or what is happening in the world around us.

I’ve long spoken both on this program and in the blog about how singles can feel peace in a family-centered culture while not having the marker of belonging in that culture.  Your focus determines your reality, so when you change your focus, you change your realty.  When you change the way you think, you change your life.

That principle applies to everyone, not just singles.  All of us can create a reality of peace in our lives when we focus on what brings peace.  And the ultimate source of peace is the Prince of Peace.  He suffered our pains and troubles so that He would know how to be compassionate in our hour of need.  He died so that we could live.

That life Christ gives isn’t just eternal life in the realm beyond the veil.  He gives life here and now in mortality.  He can lighten our load and light the way before us.  He can lift us when we are low.  He can give hope amidst despair.

The Christmas spirit of peace can continue on in us when we increase our discipleship to the Prince of Peace.  It’s when we ignore His teachings or forget our covenants that we bring ourselves the opposite of peace.  Aligning ourselves with His teachings and our covenants with Him brings a harmony with truth that makes a natural home for peace.

Once we have peace within ourselves, we can then spread peace to others around us.  Our continued walk after the Prince of Peace can inspire others to follow His enlightened example.  Once they align themselves with truth, others can have the same peace in their lives.

But deep, lasting peace comes from more than just keeping the standards.  Just as true happiness comes from giving yourself to all the right things for you, deep, lasting peace comes when you align yourself with all the right things for you.  By all means, strive to keep the commandments and your covenants.  Those things are right for everyone.  But beyond the standards reside what’s right for each of us individually — goodness related to your personal ministry and the contribution only you can make in the lives of others.

When you give yourself to those right things that only you can do, you promote peace.  You become a city shining on a hill giving goodness, light, and love to an increasingly darkened world desperately in need.  And that peace you bring to others can come to you as well.

It all starts where the song says it starts.  Let there be peace.  And let it begin with me.

Let each of us align ourselves with truth.  Let each of us keep the commandments.  Let each of us be true to our covenants.  Let each of us embrace our own personal ministry and contribute what only we can give.  Let each of us feel the peace that comes from following more completely the Prince of Peace.

Then let us all go forward and share that peace with others.  Let us light their lives.  Let us give them hope.  Let us lighten their load.  Let there be peace.  And let it begin with me and you.  We will find a peace we have never before known if we promote peace within our own hearts and the hearts of others like we have never before done.  And when we do that, we’ll have more joy in our journey.

Christmas is right around the corner, and as long-time members of the audience know, Christmas is my favorite holiday.  It’s the most wonderful time of the year.  And we know why.  There’s the time with family and friends, the food, the presents, the lights everywhere, and the general feeling of goodwill, just to name a few.

In addition, many of us will have our own slight adjustments to that list because we each have our own traditions for celebrating the season.  Those traditions create memories that can last a lifetime.  We can reflect back and relive the goodness of those moments, an experience bringing us joy again and again.

Yet we truly treasure those old memories when we allow them to motivate us in creating new memories to treasure and recording them in some way that allows us to bring these memories to future generations.  By creating new memories as well as the means to share those memories with those coming after us, we truly treasure our memories of the season.

We can all capture joy by reflecting back on treasured memories of past Christmases, particularly those that involve family traditions.  Some of my most treasured memories of Christmas as I grew up involved two special traditions: Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas morning breakfast.

Dinner on Christmas Eve was a huge smorgasbord.  We would list everything we wanted to eat — pizza, sandwiches, fried chicken, Chinese, whatever.  We’d intentionally get more than we could possibly eat in one setting so we’d have leftovers over the next 2-3 days and my mother wouldn’t have to cook.  It was my father’s annual present to my mother.

But we needed to have Christmas breakfast before getting to that point, and that was also a feast in its own right.  We’d have waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns — pretty much anything you’d want for a big breakfast.  And just like the night before we’d have leftovers to eat the next couple of days.

What make these memories so treasured for me is that they required us to work together.  Our Christmas Eve smorgasbord usually required 2-3 of us each traveling a different route to secure a portion of the whole feast.  And we’d each take turns helping to fix parts of Christmas breakfast so each of us could shower and dress to get ready for it all.  By the time we were all dressed and ready, so was breakfast.

Of course, treasured memories will die with us unless we create a channel to transmit them across the generations.  It’s great that my treasured memories bring goodness into my life whenever I relive them.  But how much more goodness can I bring into the world by recording my memories so that future generations can share in my joy?

Modern technology provides many options for all of us to record the memories we make each Christmas season.  I’m something of an old school fan here; I prefer handwritten journals.  But there’s plenty of other options.  You can record audio conversations with family members, or take photos of family being together, or record video of family members participating in family traditions.  Modern technology makes it really easy to capture the moments that make great memories.

And you don’t have to settle on just one channel for preserving and transmitting memories.  Again, modern technology makes it super easy to utilize multiple channels.  Some careful planning can maximize your readiness to capture the memory making moments you don’t anticipate as well the ones you do.

However you choose to proceed, don’t miss the opportunity to make the most of your moments.  The memories that bring us joy from years past and the memories that will bring us joy in years to come arise from the actions we take now.  We truly treasure the memories we have today by working to make more memories we’ll have tomorrow.

And we amplify the goodness contained in those memories by creating channels for sharing it with future generations.  Don’t make the mistake of allowing your circumstances to decide your level of activity.  Even if you’re single without any direct descendants, don’t think there aren’t others in succeeding generations who’ll be interested in knowing more about your goodness.  Like light that shines for all to see, the goodness we each have can make memories everyone can treasure for years to come.

So treasure the memories you have by making new ones and recording them in some way for future generations.  When you do, you’ll expand the goodness you experience in our your own life and transmit that goodness to those who come after you.  And that will bring more joy in your journey.