Privileges, Potentials And Principles

Having trouble seeing, you say? My glasses work great. They really help me see a lot better. Here, put them on — I’m sure they’ll work for you, too. No, really, try them…

Swiss Countryside Through Train Window

Have you ever noticed how we all see things differently? I’ve had experiences in which, **POP**, my vision changes and I see things in a totally new light. For example, as we traveled by train from Switzerland to Italy, our cabinmate happened to be a young Swiss woman returning from home to her studies in Italy. Out the window, I saw with interest how the scenery changed from the über neat, carefully kept Swiss houses, each looking like a music box cottage, to the houses of the Italian countryside, with a few roof tiles askew and some external wall plaster that needed patching. Initially, I was disappointed with some of the residents of Italy, thinking, “Don’t they care?” I mentioned it to our new student friend, and she said simply, “Yes, isn’t it quaint?” **POP** I began to see these dwellings through her eyes — Instantly, I got it, and in place of the seemingly dilapidated houses I had seen in my mind’s eye just a moment before, the homes looked lovely to me. Suddenly, I couldn’t make these homes stay in the train window long enough, and I missed them after they disappeared from view. I thanked our friend, and I was stunned by the speed of the process by which she helped me to adjust my vision.

Sometimes, the needed adjustment is of little consequence. For example, who knew of the potential to use one’s body as a percussion instrument?

At other times, however, the needed adjustment may indeed be costly, especially when we underestimate our privileges or our potential:

As Dieter Uchtdorf is teaching, the costs can be great of not seeing my own potential. The potential for poor vision increases as I base my views on poor principles. Since I live in a world where principles are prized less and less, where principles are more and more mocked and scorned, discarded as a garment in a hot furnace, sad experience has taught me the importance of seeing on a higher plane.

Young Man Adjusting His Vision

I have learned for myself that I achieve little or nothing when I fight against God — That’s when I fail. In contrast, I am most successful, I achieve things of eternal importance, when I succeed in getting my understanding to **POP**, when I adjust my vision, when I see others as the Lord sees them, when I see myself as the Lord sees me. And I have learned for myself that this is true for each of us, for all of us.

——– End of Post ——–

WebCredits—List of web resources used in this post but not explicitly credited above:

Drawing, glasses—www.123rf.com/photo_8284355_cartoon-eyes-with-glasses.html
Photo, “Swiss Countryside Through Train Window”—graphics.stanford.edu/~lucasp/pictures/switzerland/countryside/
Address, “Your Potential, Your Privilege”, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, LDS General Conference, Apr 2011—www .lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/your-potential-your-privilege?lang=eng
Photo, “Young Man Adjusting His Vision”—www.lds.org/media-library/images/youth/gospel-living?lang=eng&start=11&end=20#young-man-praying-738191
Photo, “Mountains Through Train Window”—mattstansberryblog.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/rome-day-5/train-window/

——– End of WebCredits ——–