Swimming laps

I learned how to swim laps this week. And by swimming laps, I mean learning the general art of keeping my head in the water, coordinating my breathing, keeping my eyes in my goggles open, swimming a straight line, NOT inhaling the entire pool... etc. 

It's like life. There's a lot to think about. If you stop doing any of the important things, you choke, and the water wastes no time in trying to drown you. You have to be diligent, keep moving forward, keep a steady rhythm going, and not panic when things don't go quite right. 

You also have to slow down. President Uchtdorf gave an amazing conference address where he challenged us to focus on the things that matter most, to simplify our lives a little. When life gets stressful and challenges arise, too often we try to keep up the same frantic pace. There is no shame in stopping to breathe, in taking some time to refocus on the important things in life. Just like in swimming, too often we choke a little and instead of slowing to take a deeper breath, we plunge on ahead, often nearly drowning ourselves in the process. 

Life is too beautiful to waste a single moment coughing and spluttering in a frantic pace toward a supposed finish line. Life is not a race, but a journey, to be taken at the pace that most enables us to progress. Worry, fear, and stress are a part of life. They visit every so often, and when they do, it is up to us to take a deep breath and continue paddling, to continue doing the things that matter most. The Lord counsels, "Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength...but be diligent unto the end." (D&C 10:4) 

With perseverance and unwavering faith, pretty soon we'll finish our laps and reach the end of the pool and, like Paul, be able to say, "I have fought a good fight,  I have finished my course, I have kept the faith... Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day." (2 Tim. 4:7-8). 

Viva la Vida.