Two Sources of Peace: Exercise and Faith

Dear family,

May I share some thoughts that are near and dear to my heart? Yesterday two MBA students interviewed me about the helpful aspects of BYU’s Wellness Program. They asked me to show them photos that represented my feelings. Two of the photos related to a Zen-like state of meditation. That reflects my deepest feelings about exercise. I find peace and balance while working out. Talking about my feelings elicited an unusual discovery: When I’m pushing my body to its limits, I almost always think of you, my family--how you’re doing, joy in your successes, worries about your challenges. Somehow pushing my body to its limits through physical stress opens my heart (the source of my emotions) to values that matter most to me. I hope you know that I love each one of you and want you to find peace in life through exercise, through faith, through whatever works for you (well, whatever works for you that is both legal and ethical!).

The second source of peace for me is faith. This is a controversial subject in today’s world. Teens, especially, are abandoning faith in droves. My counsel to you each is to dig deep and find your own faith in the Creator of your souls and then seek to do His will. That path may be hard at times, but I believe it is another source of peace. I came across this link today and found an intriguing quote from a Christian author (who is not a Mormon): "Mormon teenagers attach the most importance to faith and are most likely to fall in the category of highly devoted youth. … In nearly every area, using a variety of measures, Mormon teenagers showed the highest levels of religious understanding, vitality, and congruence between religious belief and practiced faith; they were the least likely to engage in high-risk behavior and consistently were the most positive, healthy, hopeful, and self-aware teenagers in the interviews." These findings are consistent with what other studies as well. We really do have a strong and vibrant religion (if we will live it--and not be too hard on ourselves!) http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700069688/Religious-teens-Mormons-top-others.html

Please know that I love you and wish you the greatest happiness.




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