Simplify, And Be Content.

This afternoon, while browsing Pinterest, I came across a beautiful quote from a very intelligent lady:

[This is not my image/subway art/etc. I just found it on the interwebs.]

Marjorie Hinckley is the wife of the prophet Gordon B. Hinckley. I don't remember overly much about either of them because I was young when they were alive, but whenever I see pictures of the two of them, you can tell they love each other SO much. This quote is, I think, so beautiful, and greatly depicts her wisdom and intelligence. 

As women, we tend to feel pressure. Pressure to be the perfect mom, the perfect wife, to turn our children into geniuses and our husbands into romantics. Pressure to have perfect meals, to have a spotless house, worthy to be in a magazine. Pressure to look fashionable, to have clean and presentable children. Pressure to never get sick or depressed, to have endless amounts of energy. Pressure to create perfect projects, to host perfect parties, to take beautiful vacations, to host perfect holidays. Pressure to document our perfect lives to prove that our lives are perfect. Pressure to do it all, and then some, without relief, and never complain. 

News flash! Women are imperfect, and that's ok.

"We have to decide what is important..."

Seriously. What is important to you? This isn't the same answer for everyone. Some women crave romanticism from their husbands. Some women want to host perfect holidays for their children. Think through what you do in your life, and decide what takes priority. Maybe your housecleaning isn't quite as important as taking your children to a park or helping them build with legos. Deciding what's important is up to you.

"...and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us."

Maybe you have too much on your daily plate of things to accomplish. Maybe you squash that thought in the back of your mind that tells you that you can't do it all. Maybe you feel like you're always tired and rundown, and when you lay down to sleep at night you dread the thought of waking up and going through it all over again. Maybe what you're trying to do is simply too much.

"We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something."

Why do you have so much on your plate? I understand that some days are just full, messy days. What about all the rest of your days? What is filling them that you feel pressure to do so much, and then feel failure every time you don't succeed? What are you trying to prove? What does it matter?

"We have to learn to be content with what we are."

This part and the maturity part are my favorite parts of this quote. I never thought of trying to do it all just to keep up with other women as a lack of maturity. I think one of the biggest downfalls of being women is that we judge each other. We do. We judge each other all the time, and in doing so, we compare ourselves to that other person. Whether it's "Oh, she's so beautiful and amazing, I'll never be able to be like that" or whether it's "Look, she made a mistake, and that makes me feel good about myself, haha on her", we are still judging and comparing ourselves to each other. And what is worse, I think we do it without realising it sometimes. I figured that out one day when I said something to the effect of "I'm not pretty" and when my husband asked why, I compared my post-pregnancy body to that of another woman, to which my husband asked "Why do you do that to yourself?" I realised that I was almost saying things like that because I was used to it, as if I couldn't give any other answer besides "I'm not good enough ever". 

I know we can't change overnight. I know that the world isn't going to change. I know that we'll always feel pressure to act like nothing can stop us, not even childbirth. I know that there will always be that neighbor, that sister at your church, maybe even a relative or that in-law, who does seem like they can do it all. Maybe a few of them can. But I bet you five bucks that the people who look like they do it all shed countless tears into their pillows because they feel overwhelmed, because they can't do it all. But how you feel when you look at those people is entirely up to you. No one else. No one else should tell you that you're not good enough, because what's good enough for you isn't the same as what's good enough for someone else. There will be times when we fall short of goals and things that we felt like we should accomplish. There will be times when something as simple as vacuuming the floor just doesn't happen. That's ok. There are times when we should expand what's good enough for us, and we might not get it right the first time, or even the second or third or seventh or eighth time. That's ok too. I wish we could all look around and realise that it's not a contest. That we're good people. That successes and failures don't necessarily define us. That we are each individuals that are worthy of feeling content and happiness.

Psalm 46:10 tells us to:

Jacob 6:2 reads "O be wise; what can I say more?"

And Dieter F. Uchtdorf reminds us that...

Simplify. Take the little steps you need to slow down your lives as much as you can. Make sure you are taking care of yourself-- exercise, eat (as healthy as possible, without setting yourself up for failure), read scriptures, pray, sleep. Caring for yourself will only help you care for your family. Once you simplify, be content. And smile! A woman always looks best when she's smiling.

[Note: All images in this post were found on the internet. I honestly don't know who made them, or where they originated. If I find out, credit will be given where it is due. Thanks to those who make such beautiful art with the words of the wise.]