Quarantine: Week 6

Practicing the ukelele on the balcony

Hola a todos!

If I have my days correct, today makes day 36 in quarantine. And yeah that's a long time, but I have looked at it in a different way. It's really not too bad. I have compared my situation to others in history, and looked at how less severe my situation is. For example, George Washington and his Continental Army in Valley Forge, winter of 1777-1778. In the middle of a horrendous winter, thousands of men lived in tents, often with very little clothing and food, and disease spread around the camp quickly. Pretty terrible living circumstances there. Another example, Louis Zamperini, a personal hero, was a bombardier in World War 2. On a search mission, their bomber crashed into the Pacific. Zamperini, and 2 others that survived, lived on rafts smaller than a man, for 47 days. They floated over 2,00 miles, where they endured sharks, enemy strafings, ocean tempests, and exposure to the elements. Zamperini was then captured, and for 2 more years, endured the tortures of being a prisoner of war by the Japanese, which not many people lived to tell the tale. Clearly, my situation is a lot better than these 2 of many examples. And this has given me plenty of things to be grateful for, and science has proved that a grateful brain is a good brain.

When I was 14, I embarked on a 50 miler in Yosemite National Park, with some of my close family relatives. It was glorious. We walked through beautiful meadows, swam at the bottom of rushing waterfalls, slid down natural rockslides, and summited iconic Yosemite peaks like Clouds Rest and Half Dome. It was an awesome trip, but not all of it was loads of fun. A few years prior to this trip, a roaring wildfire had raged through Little Yosemite Valley and surrounding areas, burning everything in sight. And our route took us right through Little Yosemite Valley. As we got to this section of the journey, we dubbed it the apocalyptic forest. Because truly, everything in every direction looked dead. Like an apocalypse. Nothing pretty to see, and it was a hot and sucky hike to our destination. However, as we looked closer, we discovered that beauty could be found. We endured, focusing on the beauty, and we eventually made it through the apocalyptic forest. I love this example because we will always have "apocalyptic forests" to walk through in life. However, if we look closely in these trials, there is hope to be found, and if we endure with patience, focusing on the good, we can and will overcome anything the trails of life throw at us. There is beauty all around, even in a burnt out forest. 

Many of us may be in these "apocalyptic forests" now, being stuck in quarantine, putting a pause on life as COVID-19 spreads on the earth. However, there is beauty to be found. This can be an experience in which we learn and grow. I know I have shared this scripture before, but I think it is very appropriate. Doctrine and Covenants 121:7

....know thou, my son, that all these [trials] shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good

I hope everyone is doing well, and be sure to look for the flowers!

Élder Van Wagenen 

God Bless America, Viva España 

Fotos:

1. Me and my District Leader, taking out the rubbish, as he says

2. We found these flowers on our backpacking trip last year in Yosemite. Photo credit goes to David Van Wagenen. Look for the flowers! 

3. THE Apocalyptic forest. Photo credit goes to David Van Wagenen. We walked through the same forest less than a year ago on another glorious trip to Yosemite. It was cool to see how much had grown in 4 years

4. Again, taking out the trash. One of my favorite chores!