ON LOVE

I saw this posted on another blog and wanted to share. Apparently, it's a letter from John Steinbeck in response to his teenage son's letter informing him that he had fallen in love with a girl while at boarding school. Here is the letter:

New York
November 10, 1958
Dear Thom:

We had your letter this morning. I will answer it from my point of view and of course Elaine will from hers.

First -- if you are in love -- that's a good thing -- that's about the best thing that can happen to anyone. Don't let anyone make it small or light to you.

Second -- There are several kinds of love. One is a selfish, mean, grasping, egotistical thing which uses love for self-importance. This is the ugly and crippling kind. The other is an outpouring of everything good in you -- of kindness and consideration and respect -- not only the social respect of manners but the greater respect which is recognition of another person as unique and valuable. The first kind can make you sick and small and weak but the second can release in you strength, and courage and goodness and even wisdom you didn't know you had.

You say this is not puppy love. If you feel so deeply -- of course it isn't puppy love.

But I don't think you were asking me what you feel. You know better than anyone. What you wanted me to help you with is what to do about it -- and that I can tell you.

Glory in it for one thing and be very glad and grateful for it.

The object of love is the best and most beautiful. Try to live up to it.

If you love someone -- there is no possible harm in saying so -- only you must remember that some people are very shy and sometimes the saying must take that shyness into consideration.

Girls have a way of knowing or feeling what you feel, but they usually like to hear it also.

It sometimes happens that what you feel is not returned for one reason or another -- but that does not make your feeling less valuable and good.

Lastly, I know your feeling because I have it and I'm glad you have it.

We will be glad to meet Susan. She will be very welcome. But Elaine will make all such arrangements because that is her province and she will be very glad to. She knows about love too and maybe she can give you more help than I can.

And don't worry about losing. If it is right, it happens -- The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.

Love,

Fa

Via A Cup of Jo

FALLING WHISTLES

Have you heard about the Falling Whistles campaign? The situation in the DRC is just so horrible with no real solution in sight. I know that this is one of my specific areas of interest, but thought that you might be interested as well. Most of the electronics that we have use materials from the DRC that are mined illegally and under horrible conditions, and it also contributes to the ongoing violence. I'm not saying that we need to eschew all of our electronic devices, but people need to know where they are coming from, and it could help to support organizations that call for transparency about the source of materials being used.

I'm not saying that you need to buy a whistle, but it's definitely something people should be aware of.

Visit www.fallingwhistles.com for more information about this campaign.

Poema para um dia de chuva

When I was in Mozambique, we studied Mozambican literature from a textbook that our professor had written. This is one of my favorite poems that we read (in it's English translation). Someday I think I would like to have this posted near my front door:

Poem for a Rainy Day

My home is a lighthouse in the middle of the night.

Come, whoever you may be

at first you'll be like the stem of a flower

dripping over the carpet

and we will watch you

as the color of the rain

but immediately, almost immediately

you will feel in yours the warm palms

of our hands

and you will find in the design of our smiles

the translation of the hour.

- Gloria de Sant'Anna

as translated by Frederick G. Williams

When you just know

I just know that I am going to love this movie. Will you see it with me?

Create

I absolutely loved this talk when I heard it the first time, so I was thrilled to see this video made from some of Elder Uchtdorf's comments.