Self-control

Is the name of the game for me in my life therapy. My Pa text me, "It's the purpose of life Curtis to learn self-control over ourselves. How can we be like the Savior when we are tossed to and fro by every wind of any kind?"
President James E, Faust said in the priesthood session in the April 200 general conference,"Every human soul, especially priesthood holders, has the challenge of controlling his or her thoughts, appetites, speech, temper, and desires." I did not get that TBI people are exempt. I am included in the ,"all souls," even when I find myself short fused with my kids. He goes on to say,"Self-mastery is a challenge for every individual. Only we can control our appetites and passions. Self-mastery cannot be bought by money or fame. It is the ultimate test of our character. It requires climbing out of the deep valleys of our lives and scaling our own Mount Everests." I mentioned in my ward when Sister Roach asked me to talk about adversity that people see me in a wheelchair and think that this physical adversity is my mount Everest, it is a hard trial, but it holds nothing to my actual spiritual Everest to climb. It does give me precious and valuable insights to continue to climb.
He continues,"In its simplest terms, self-mastery is doing those things we should do and not doing those things we should not do. It requires strength, willpower, and honesty. As the traffic on the communications highway becomes a parking lot, we must depend more and more on our own personal moral filters to separate the good from the bad." I think about doing the KUED RTL Workshops that I did for several years and our first workshop was always 'Media Literacy," how to make smart media choices for your kids. I know that media is a powerful tool that is used for good and bad. It is up to each one of us to decide how it is used, and,President Faust takes that one step further, "I now turn to mastery of our own private thoughts. In this realm, conscience is the only referee that can blow the whistle when we get out of control. If not bridled, our thoughts can run wild. Our minds are a part of us that really require discipline and control. I believe reading the scriptures is the best washing machine for unclean or uncontrolled thoughts. For those who are eligible and worthy, the sanctity of the holy temple can lift our thoughts above the earthy." I love the power of the scripures in my life to combat the mental cleaning that I am in constant need of. I am excited to go back to the temple and continue to receive the fortification from the covenants made there.
Near the end he states,"I now speak of the absolute necessity of controlling all physical appetites. These might in one sense be called the “thorn in the flesh.” Harry Emerson Fosdick provides an important context for self-control: “Self-denial … is not the negative, forbidding thing that often we shake our heads about. In one sense there is no such thing as self-denial, for what we call such is the necessary price we pay for things on which our hearts are set.” On my mission, my first Mission President, President Wagnar taught me of the need for self denial.I love the positive light that President Faust emphasized here. Before reading 'Invictus,' a favorite poem of mine that I cannot help feel proud to have memorized and playing in the background of my mind constantly.
To end his talk he leaves me excuseless and says,"As priesthood holders, we should not look for excuses when we lose our self-control. Even though our circumstances may be challenging, we can all strive for self-mastery. Great blessings of personal satisfaction come from doing so. Self-mastery is related to spirituality, which is the central quest of mortality. As President David O. McKay once said: “Spirituality is the consciousness of victory over self, and of communion with the Infinite. Spirituality impels one to conquer difficulties and acquire more and more strength. To feel one’s faculties unfolding and truth expanding the soul is one of life’s sublimest experiences(April,2000)."
I draw so many parallels from my physical and mental self-mastery quest to reconnect with the left side of my body, yes it is as weird for me to type this as it is for you to read it, welcome to my life right now, and relearn to walk to enable me to climb my spiritual Everest. For this I can say I am grateful for this therapy of self-mastery tailored to my personal needs.