Being Self Reliant from our Head to our Toes

"Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes, knees and toes. 

Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, eyes, ears, mouth and nose."

Most of us are familiar with this interactive children's song that involves standing up and moving around. Today I want to focus on how our Head, shoulders, knees, and toes can help us be self reliant.

"When we are self reliant, we use the blessings and abilities God has given us to care for ourselves and our families and find solutions to our own problems. As we become self reliant, we are also better able to serve and care for others. The lord wants us to become both spiritually and temporally self reliant." - Come Follow Me manual 

Head

The most important thing we can do with our minds is to get an education. True to the Faith teaches: "you can become self reliant by taking advantage of educational opportunities." 

Nelson Mandela said,"Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world" 

I like to think of education as an investment in yourself. A few years ago a friend of mine was contemplating going to nursing school. She was hesitant because it was going to take "so long" and cost a lot of money.  I encouraged her to think of it as an investment. After much contemplating she decided to go for it. She is now an accomplished nurse with a steady job. Her investment in her education helped her become financially self reliant. 

We also need to teach ourselves how to be problem solvers. I've noticed that children will often ask their moms or dads about every possible thing. An example situation would be: "mom, where is my jacket?" A very helpful, or busy mother, might quickly respond with, "it's in your closet". 

Telling our children the answers to their questions are helpful to them but does it help them learn how to solve their own problems? In the same situation, child asks, "mom, where is my jacket?" And mom could then say, "hmmm, that's a good question. Where do you think it might be?" Responding to our children with a question can sometimes encourage them to think for themselves and try to solve their own problem.

This is obviously a simplified version of the problems that we, as adults have but the basic principles are the same. We need to evaluate our problems, think about possible solutions, and then take the action necessary to rectify it. 

A great thing about being self reliant is that it doesn't mean you can't get help from a close friend or relative. There are certain problems or trials where we need to use a resource, find someone to help or at least find someone that will listen. Some great places to find answers are:

- friends, family, a friend of a friend, bishop, Internet, library, and prayer.

Let's be honest, at the end of the day, there comes a point where we need to be responsible for ourselves and do our best to find solutions to our own problems. By using these resources I know we can do that.

Shoulders

Next, let's talk about our shoulders. We've all heard the familiar tune of: "Put your shoulder to the wheel and push along, do your duty with a heart full of song, we all have work, let no one shirk, put your shoulder to the wheel" 

Bishop H. David Burton said, "Today, many have forgotten the value of work. Some falsely believe that the highest goal in life is to achieve a condition in which one no longer needs to work." President David O McKay said, "Let us realize that the privilege to work is a gift, that the power to work is a blessing, that love of work is success."

My husband, Austin, is a huge example to me in this area. During the 2014 tax season I sat down with our accountant to review our forms. She was impressed by all the different jobs and forms Austin had from 2013. Some of these included: his student loan forms from law school, a real estate venture he did with his brother, his service in the army national guard, and selling Cutco knives (which he did after law school to help pay bills until he found the job that moved us here to AZ). After reviewing everything and realizing that he really did all of these things, she said to me, "now that's a man that won't let you starve".  I've always known this, but hearing it from an unbiased third party made it ring even louder. I am grateful for his example to me and our children. By him being self reliant, it has enabled him to serve his family, as well as others in our church and community through his generosity and example. 

"For if a man think himself to be nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden." - Galatians 6:3-5

Along with representing hard work, our shoulders are also thought of as a place where our burdens lie. Margaret Mitchell - Gone with the Wind said, "Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them." 

We have all felt burdens on our shoulders. John Bytheway, a popular LDS presenter, did a talk on "What are you carrying in your backpack?" He relates a story about a pack one of his fellow Scouts carried up a steep mountain, John Bytheway says, "He had things in his pack that were too heavy, that he didn't need, that weighed him down, and that made the hike a lot harder than it needed to be."

This is very similar to life, many of us carry around things that make the journey harder than it needs to be.  In order to be spiritually self reliant we need to unload things like a poor self image, a tendency to feel sorry for ourselves, and unresolved sins.  To rectify these burdens, we can repent, look for the good in our lives and most importantly pray... Which brings us to our next topic in our "knee" category. 

Knees

Prayer is a vital aspect of self reliance to prepare ourselves spiritually to survive these various burdens that are placed on our shoulders. Kneeling in prayer on a daily basis brings extra spiritual strength. 

Elder Henry B Eyring said, "We are commanded to pray always that we will not be overcome. Some of the protection we need will be direct intervention of God. But more of it will come from building our faith to obey. We can pray everyday to know what God would have us do."

Some of you may know that I run on a regular basis. It is through this that I've learned how vital our knees are, not only for prayer but for exercise and healthy living. 

A few years ago my older sister went through a rough time. I went to visit her and I noticed she was exercising regularly and had a very healthy eating routine. When I asked her about it she said, "I've learned that I can't control everything in my life, so I've decided to take full control of the things that are in my power." 

This has taught me the value in taking ownership of our bodies, I mean, we only get one, right? 

The Word of Wisdom found in D&C 88 talks in depth of all the things we can do to keep our bodies healthy and strong. My favorite part is the blessings it promises if we do these things:

"18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones

19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;

20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.

21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen."

Toes

On to our last topic, Dr. Seuss said it best: "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go." 

Our toes and our feet take us where we need to be... Where will you go? Where will they lead? Are you going somewhere or are you hovering around? Stay anxiously engaged or get out of town. (Ok, I came up with that last bit. Something about Dr. Seuss gets me on a rhyming roll😊). 

Anyways, Walt Disney is a great example of someone who had vision. He knew where he wanted to go. Many did not understand how he would make a cartoon town a reality in Disneyland, but he stuck to his vision and found a way to get there. 

"For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward." - D&C 58:26-28

Unknowingly, I used to make goals that were out of my control. A prime example is when Austin and I were first married. I remember we wrote out our goals and they consisted of things like, "we will have our first child by our 5 year anniversary" or "Austin will have a great job by 'such and such' time".  Since we realized that wasn't working, we've started making different types of goals that we can control. At the first of every new year we come up with goals in four different categories: temporal (work related), physical, spiritual and educational. This helps us to continue improving ourselves and continue heading towards the "vision" we have of our future.

So as a quick recap of our theme song and self reliant goals, we have:

Head: education & problem solving

Shoulders: hard work & unloading unnecessary burdens

Knees: pray for guidance & exercise 

Toes: visualize where you want to be & set goals

As we live our lives I hope we don't just repeat the same old song or actions over and over. I hope we can realize the potential in ourselves and become fully self reliant from our head to our toes. 

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

This talk was given on 11/15/15