Quasimodo wrote:A poor analogy, but what the heck.
As a nevermo, I obviously never went on a mission. In the summer after graduating high school and before I started collage, I was offered a job by a friend (who's father was a sheep rancher) to herd sheep in a valley below the Strawberry Reservoir with a world class trout stream running through it (Utahn's will know where that is).
I would be provided with two horses, a trailer to live in, a rifle and ammunition, food and other provisions, sheep dogs and meager wages. The major responsibilities were to keep the sheep in the valley and fend off coyotes when possible.
I declined, mostly due to a girlfriend I had at the time. I can't tell you how many times, later in life, I wished I would have taken the opportunity (still do).
I know that area and yeah, I would be wishing the same thing.
Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given... Zeus (1178 BC)
zeezrom wrote:I know that area and yeah, I would be wishing the same thing.
In my time, it was called "Stinking Springs" due to the sulphur springs in the area. I understand that it has become a location for summer homes now. In my day it was pretty much wild back country.
By coincidence, that was one of my parents' favorite fishing spots. If I had taken the job, I would have seen them every weekend.
This, or any other post that I have made or will make in the future, is strictly my own opinion and consequently of little or no value.
"Faith is believing something you know ain't true" Twain.
I do not regret serving a mission. My life is too much a reflection of that time, and not bad by any measure, to imagine that experience could be removed without consequence. Two years in Switzerland talking with people, playing chess with crazy old men in the park, good times and bad - it was more than some people will ever get the chance to experience.
On that note:
Portrait of the Artist as a Prematurely Old Man
It is common knowledge to every schoolboy and even every Bachelor of Arts, That all sin is divided into two parts. One kind of sin is called a sin of commission, and that is very important, And it is what you are doing when you are doing something you ortant, And the other kind of sin is just the opposite and is called a sin of omission and is equally bad in the eyes of all right-thinking people, from Billy Sunday to Buddha, And it consists of not having done something you shuddha. I might as well give you my opinion of these two kinds of sin as long as, in a way, against each other we are pitting them, And that is, don't bother your head about the sins of commission because however sinful, they must at least be fun or else you wouldn't be committing them. It is the sin of omission, the second kind of sin, That lays eggs under your skin. The way you really get painfully bitten Is by the insurance you haven't taken out and the checks you haven't added up the stubs of and the appointments you haven't kept and the bills you haven't paid and the letters you haven't written. Also, about sins of omission there is one particularly painful lack of beauty, Namely, it isn't as though it had been a riotous red-letter day or night every time you neglected to do your duty; You didn't get a wicked forbidden thrill Every time you let a policy lapse or forget to pay a bill; You didn't slap the lads in the tavern on the back and loudly cry Whee, Let's all fail to write just one more letter before we go home, and this round of unwritten letters is on me. No, you never get any fun Out of things you haven't done, But they are the things that I do not like to be amid, Because the suitable things you didn't do give you a lot more trouble than the unsuitable things you did. The moral is that it is probably better not to sin at all, but if some kind of sin you must be pursuing, Well, remember to do it by doing rather than by not doing.
~ Ogden Nash
Maybe this gets at some of what you feel, Zeez? Not so much "sins" of any kind, but as Whittier said,
Of all sad words of Tongue and Pen The saddest are these, "It might have been"
?
ETA: Misattributed the above to Keats.
The world is always full of the sound of waves..but who knows the heart of the sea, a hundred feet down? Who knows it's depth? ~ Eiji Yoshikawa
A lot of my mission photos reflect the down times because those are the times we were most likely to have a camera sitting around. Many of these photos are of us goofing off in the apartment or sitting around like slobs. I started remembering all the sitting around and wasting time I did. I did that a lot. Most other missionaries knew me as a hard working tightwad that needed to loosen up but based on our photos, it sure looks like I wasted a bunch of time.
Then I look at my wife's photos and she was having fun with friends looking at all kinds of cool buildings, art, and people. She carried a camera with her while visiting these amazing places.
After my mission, I spent a semester abroad in southeast Asia and India. Those short months made a huge impression on me. I think I learned more on that trip about the world and different cultures/religions than I did in 2 years on a mission.
I don't regret my mission because it doesn't help to regret the past like that but I really do feel it was a pretty wasteful time in my life. Yeah, I learned some sell tactics and I learned a language. It wasn't all wasted but I don't think it was enough of a good thing for me to ever encourage my children to do it.
Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given... Zeus (1178 BC)
honorentheos wrote:I do not regret serving a mission. My life is too much a reflection of that time, and not bad by any measure, to imagine that experience could be removed without consequence. Two years in Switzerland talking with people, playing chess with crazy old men in the park, good times and bad - it was more than some people will ever get the chance to experience.
On that note:
Portrait of the Artist as a Prematurely Old Man
It is common knowledge to every schoolboy and even every Bachelor of Arts, That all sin is divided into two parts. One kind of sin is called a sin of commission, and that is very important, And it is what you are doing when you are doing something you ortant, And the other kind of sin is just the opposite and is called a sin of omission and is equally bad in the eyes of all right-thinking people, from Billy Sunday to Buddha, And it consists of not having done something you shuddha. I might as well give you my opinion of these two kinds of sin as long as, in a way, against each other we are pitting them, And that is, don't bother your head about the sins of commission because however sinful, they must at least be fun or else you wouldn't be committing them. It is the sin of omission, the second kind of sin, That lays eggs under your skin. The way you really get painfully bitten Is by the insurance you haven't taken out and the checks you haven't added up the stubs of and the appointments you haven't kept and the bills you haven't paid and the letters you haven't written. Also, about sins of omission there is one particularly painful lack of beauty, Namely, it isn't as though it had been a riotous red-letter day or night every time you neglected to do your duty; You didn't get a wicked forbidden thrill Every time you let a policy lapse or forget to pay a bill; You didn't slap the lads in the tavern on the back and loudly cry Whee, Let's all fail to write just one more letter before we go home, and this round of unwritten letters is on me. No, you never get any fun Out of things you haven't done, But they are the things that I do not like to be amid, Because the suitable things you didn't do give you a lot more trouble than the unsuitable things you did. The moral is that it is probably better not to sin at all, but if some kind of sin you must be pursuing, Well, remember to do it by doing rather than by not doing.
~ Ogden Nash
Maybe this gets at some of what you feel, Zeez? Not so much "sins" of any kind, but as Whittier said,
Of all sad words of Tongue and Pen The saddest are these, "It might have been"
?
ETA: Misattributed the above to Keats.
+1
"Any over-ritualized religion since the dawn of time can make its priests say yes, we know, it is rotten, and hard luck, but just do as we say, keep at the ritual, stick it out, give us your money and you'll end up with the angels in heaven for evermore."
liz3564 wrote:My husband loved his mission. He has often stated that it was the most difficult yet worthwhile experiences of his life.
He is an introvert, and the mission forced him to deal with people of different cultures, etc.
Much like Doc Cam, he has utilized his language skills in current job situations, and it has been a great help to him. My husband went to Honduras and Belize.
café crema wrote:Yes the introverts have to be fixed
Interesting...
I recall that on my mission, I felt a sort of obligation from those around me to take care of me in different ways. "I am here on a very important mission and this is going to be the best 2 years of my life and you all are going to help me make it that way by golly."
Not exactly this... but deep down, there is a little of it. I expected people to feel sorry for us as we stood in the rain on their porch. I expected members to want to feed us and I expected to be persecuted for our beliefs... all for the benefit of giving me the best two years.
That sounds really selfish.
Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given... Zeus (1178 BC)
café crema wrote:Yes the introverts have to be fixed
Interesting...
I recall that on my mission, I felt a sort of obligation from those around me to take care of me in different ways. "I am here on a very important mission and this is going to be the best 2 years of my life and you all are going to help me make it that way by golly."
Not exactly this... but deep down, there is a little of it. I expected people to feel sorry for us as we stood in the rain on their porch. I expected members to want to feed us and I expected to be persecuted for our beliefs... all for the benefit of giving me the best two years.
That sounds really selfish.
I absolutely hate, hate, hate it when proselytizers knock on my door, feeling sorry for them is just not going to happen. A terse no thank you is the best they get, no matter the weather. Sorry but their choice to go out in bad weather is just that, their choice, it places me under no obligation to offer comfort or listen to them.
