At the risk of sounding serious and insightful (obviously not my forte!), I am creating an inspirational post. Since earlier this year, we have been getting The Mormon Times along with our Church News. This poem, by Lowell L. Bennion, was printed there along with some interesting comments about his life. He was an Institute teacher and wrote many of the old manuals that we used in Sunday School, etc. I really, really like this poem except for the part about dogs. Everyone knows I'm a cat person. Anyway, I commend this to all. It's free verse, by the way, so don't wait for the rhyme or meter.

"Learn to like what doesn't cost much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills.
Learn to like people, even though some of them may be...different from you.
Learn to like work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done.
Learn to like the songs of birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house and fixing things.
Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall on snow on a winter's day.
Learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others."

Okay, I can't say I really like hiking and rowing, so I guess I have something to work on. And I do like climbing hills--it's looking down from big, ginormous steep mountains I can't stand.