Claustrophobia vs. An Open Heart

I grew up in a small town (about 30,000 people) on a small island (nearly 600 square miles) - you can drive around O'ahu in about three hours. It was wonderful! People have asked me before if I felt claustrophobic at all. Never! I loved where I grew up....and didn't know anything different! :) It probably helped that we visited the mainland every summer. I enjoyed the chance to visit family and explore other places, but loved coming home to the "rock in the middle of the sea."

Ironically, the last couple of years of my life, when I have seemingly been the most free - having finished graduate school, driven across the country twice, lived on the East Coast, traveled a little bit, and enjoyed some wonderful job opportunities, I've thought more about this idea of feeling trapped or claustrophobic. It might be that as I get older and have seen more places and opportunities I somehow wonder if I'm in the "best" place.....it gets hard to choose, commit, settle down. :) I admit I've felt "trapped" a little bit at times. I don't like to feel trapped; I think that's one reason I love to travel and explore new places and learn new things.

As I've been thinking about this lately, I have been inspired by some wise words from my parents about the importance of having an open heart. I think that makes all the difference in how we experience life and how we feel about the choices we make and how we move forward. As long as our heart is open and we are consistently seeking guidance from the Lord and following the Spirit, we move forward and do our best and don't worry about the rest. We don't need to worry about what anyone else thinks or worry about past decisions or create artificial barriers for ourselves that might make us feel trapped, but move forward in faith (see D&C 6:23). Basically, it's the idea of letting go and trusting (see Trust, Let Go...). I think this may come easier to children, which might also explain why I never felt claustrophobic growing up in Hawaii.

I really like Elder Gerald N. Lund's 2008 talk, Opening Our Hearts. He expresses well some of the things I've been thinking about lately. I also like Dr. Lanae Valentine's 2004 BYU Devotional entitled Removing Roadblocks to Revelation. She says, "When there are blockades between your heart and the will of your Heavenly Father, you will have difficulty choosing in accordance with God's will." She also quotes President Benson who said, "The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it."

I think my parents are neat examples of this - they lived many places while I was tiny and had wonderful experiences "unpacking their bags," building relationships and opening their hearts to inspiration and opportunities. I'm grateful for their examples. I'm also grateful for the blessings of fasting and the peace and comfort and clarity it brings to my mind and heart. I have also been inspired by a sweet book I'm currently reading - Glimpses - Into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley. I think that Sister Hinckley's example of kindness, openness, being herself, only saying kind things, passionately learning all that she could and loving everyone along the way is what it means to have an open heart.