To Be Self-Reliant

To be self-reliant
We care for our own
But oft we're defiant
In what we buy for the home

The world says what we need
In a path of excess
Born of pride and of greed
Till what we have is weakness

There to accumulate
Our treasures on earth
Where the moth does await
To devalue it's worth

But we'll find more lasting pleasure
When in gratitude we are casting
And lighting our eyes unto treasure
That is eternal and everlasting

Dallin H. Oaks
Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall
Materialistic Self-Reliance
Ensign, October 1994, 11

Matthew 6: 19-23; 3 Nephi 13:19-23
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
After moving our garage...
We had things we hadn't
used in years. We just don't
throw away useful stuff. The
problem is finding it when you
need it. So in our new garage
we will value our possessions
and organize them- use them or
donate. I miss San Jose where I
could just put a piece of furniture
on the sidewalk and someone who
needed it would take it. Nothing
so great that we would want the
D. I. trailer to have. But, in
Henderson, our neighborhood is
sheltered from main traffic.
Yet, this morning I saw a
scavenger drive through the
neighborhood. He had two kid
bikes and a lawn mower in the
back of his truck already.
Things someone else had put
out for the trash. And, I don't
think he was a metal recycler.
It reminds me of the utube video
of the tribute to dad- the
garbage man who took his family
to Disneyland from the money
careless people vacuumed up
at the carwash.

In China, ( My heart has turned
to them in prayer) it is a sign of
wealth if you can feed another
mouth. The first thing they
accumulate is a dog. This shows
their new status.
I think of one of the major reasons
for getting a dog was for the kids.
To teach them responsibility- and
how to care for a pet. That became
partly true- except for the land
mines in the yard. Picked up by
a parent before dark for morning trash day.
Having moved, I now pick it up every
day. Partly on walks which the dog
really loves! It took me ten years
to get to the point of being
committed to walking the dog.
At least my arm isn't getting yanked-
as much. Hooray for an older dog!
Sorry, my thoughts turned to the dog
because I wrote the poem on the little hill
I walk to look out at Las Vegas and the temple.