Yesterday, in the wonderfully stable land of Omaha it was a pleasant 75 degrees. The sun was shinning, all the snow had melted, and I felt confident to don a short sleeve shirt. This was a mistake for two reasons; the first being that my skin is a balmy white, usually only associated with English women vacationing in Scotland during the month of january...I'm white, like super white. The second is that the stable land of Omaha is married to a bipolar wench named nature. By 4 pm it was 30 degrees, and the wind was ravaging the landscape. In fact, the wind was so fierce that it was actually difficult to breathe.
All of this means that today the temperature is hovering right around 40, with a chance of snow, maybe an earthquake, certainly rain, and probably a plague or two. The weatherman on the radio this morning was vague, and playing his cards pretty close to his chest. Also, I had a zit on my nose...so everything is just the worst.
I decided after a two week hiatus to attempt to go to the gym. I typically have a difficult time with the gym. Besides the fact that it is super early, and I'm tired as heck, I have issues with body-image--as most people do--which leads to a fair amount of anxiety. It is easy to forget that of all the people in the gym with me in the morning I am the only one with a full time job, and full time school. I don't have 5 hours a day to work out. Also I'm not taking steroids. Oh, and I'm ten years their senior....so old age, joints, etc., etc.
Therefore, it was an absolute boon to open Facebook and read this post by a friend of mine.
This gym going experience led me to another revelation (Please my dear reader friend (MDRF) don't be surprised that the mundanity of life often inspires me to find deeply profound and spiritual insights). This revelation was in connection with God's pronouncement upon creating man that it is not good for man to be alone.
"Odd," one might say, "how does walking to the gym in such precarious circumstances inspire one to understand mankind's need for camaraderie?"
Well MDRF, I'll explain.
For the past several years I've had the great privilege of having awesome roommates and friends. Hopefully I'll be able to write something more about them in an upcoming post, but for now, suffice it for me to write that we had an awesome friendship that included daily gym excursions. Jordan, was my gym buddy for the last year. He would tolerate my screaming, and frequent inaccuracies when tracking his reps. He could lift more than he thought, so it should come as no surprise that as his lifting buddy I tried to push him. This meant counting like an idiot. If he is trying to get to ten reps, then one speaks thusly, "1...7...6.....6....9....2....2....2...2...3...4...5...6...7...8..10" You see. Ten reps. actually, it was more than 10, but you can't tell me how many it actually was, and therefore did better than you anticipated.
Shawn helped me design the workout we titled ITWT, an acronym for "In Tom We Trust" because this was going to help us build a back like Tom Hardy in that movie where he destroys Gotham.
Lastly, Ben, who pushed me to go to the gym in the first place, who helped me accomplish a coveted goal of pulling myself up, and who regularly helped me to change.
Without a spotter the gym is difficult, and less fun. You need someone there, counting like an idiot, holding your feet up, and planning boulder shoulders, to really make the most of it. The same is true in life. You need someone, counting like an idiot, and holding your feet up.
That is how I came to the conclusion that man should not be alone. I've benefited greatly from having dear friends and roommates who were there keeping me from being alone. I know that God was speaking of having a spouse, but that is, as yet, out of my reach (at least until Katy Perry returns my phone calls), but being alone doesn't help anything. As an example, please turn to your Bible (not the version read by Darren Aronofsky, though I bet it has some amazing stories). In 1Samuel18:1 we read, "And it came to pass, when he mad an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul."
During this time, David was an awesome dude. He was righteous, and he was powerful, and he was the freakin Boss! Shortly thereafter, Jonathan dies, and David's life goes to pot. It is after Jonathan dies that David decides to go to the roof and watch Bathsheba.
If I might interject a few of my own thoughts into these verses, Jonathan was David's bro. They were best friends, and they relied on each other, and as long as they had each other they were going to be okay. David was alone, and being alone he started to make stupid choices.
MDRF, if you are alone, please know that you are in my prayers. I've been alone. I've felt that despair, and it has crushed me. As cliche as it sounds, i wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. My heart breaks whenever I think of someone feeling that same loneliness.
Take comfort in the words of the Lord spoken to Joseph Smith,
"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine affliction shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes" (DC 121:7-8, but keep reading).
If you feel alone remember that even if you are the last person on earth then Christ is by your side. If you can't feel him there, then call me. Skype, email, txt or send a messenger pigeon. Do whatever you can to contact me, and I will do my best to support you, and show you that God is there.
MDRF, whoever you are, and wherever you might be, be strong and know that you are not alone.
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