Why I Am Doing This Blog

Recently I have been pondering the statistic I’ve heard over the years, which claims that Utah has the highest per capita usage of anti-depressant drugs in the nation. The issue that has caught my attention is not so much the drug use as the depression that precedes it. Why does the state with the highest membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and whose members profess to believe in the Great Plan of Happiness, also have the most depressed people in it? Does the Plan of Happiness as we know it not work, or are we not using it as it was intended? As I was trying figure out what I could do to keep myself from becoming depressed as has happened the past, and in wondering how I might encourage others in this quest, the idea of starting a blog came to me. It certainly wasn’t anything I had planned or even wanted to do, but as I mentioned the idea to more and more of my friends, I became convinced that it could serve a need.

During the pondering mentioned above, I formed a thesis for my life, that I will be testing as I develop this blog. It is this: Enjoying the journey of life includes 3 important factors: Loving, learning, and laughter. Lives will be happier if we can react to the challenges and everyday situations we encounter with these 3 factors in mind. My goal is to go forward trying to react to the inherent challenges in life with love, learning, and laughter instead of in ways that I've been accustomed to that only worsen the situation, rather than help me find happiness in dealing with life.

This blog will be a place for me to share what I am learning as I attempt to test my theory, and to encourage others to also share their experiences. I want the information posted here to fall into the categories of “Loving, learning, and laughing,” and to be a place where someone might drop by for a few minutes just to be uplifted and know that whatever they find here will have been put here for that purpose. I hope to encourage many to post their happy pictures in the “Followers” section, not because I need a following, but to show the world the faces of women who are finding joy in living the Great Plan of Happiness.