be still my soul

Bluebird of Happiness

 “Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously 
in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious 
choice which secret garden we will tend … 
when we choose not to focus on what is missing 
from our lives but are grateful for the abundance 
that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, 
the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring 
us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls 
away and we experience heaven on earth.”

Sarah Ban Breathnach, in John Cook, comp., 
The Book of Positive Quotations, 2nd ed. (2007), 342.

"Day by day, minute by minute, second by second 

we went from where we were to where we are now. 

The lives of all of us, of course, go through similar 

alterations and changes. 

The difference between the changes in my life and 

the changes in yours is only in the details. 

Time never stands still; it must steadily march on, 

and with the marching come the changes.

This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. 

The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. 

Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among 

the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn 

upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish 

between what is important and what is not. I plead with you 

not to let those most important things pass you by as you 

plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will 

have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, 

find joy in the journey—now."

Thomas S. Monson, 

October Conference 2008