What are you thinking about?

At the end of my two year mission I had my last companion ask me (in Spanish), " What are you thinking about?" 

 

I wanted to stay on the task of our mission and avoid getting into potentially mushy stuff, because the truth was I was anticipating returning to the United States, and the number one thing or person on my mind was a young lady that I had fancied for some time, and he, the companion, was cognizant that she existed, I think. I was sure he was not interested in those thoughts.

 

But I would typically respond, " I am thinking about the Perez family tonight, that we should see at 7 pm, and then hopefully after them Gerardo at 8 or so." Stay on task, elder. Let's talk about other things, right? Other than just my inner thoughts, c'mon ...

He bugged me a  lot because he usually would retort, " No, but what are you really thinking about?" 

Argh! Like I wasn't telling the truth about what I had already told him, and that I was really thinking about a whole range of other things, which might have been true, but I did not want to get into it much with him. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot we could discuss together, but there were things about his prying that bothered me. He helped prepare me to go home. The story goes back further between he and I (him and me? English...) before we had been assigned as companions in the mission field, our friendship had started almost a year earlier.

All that to ask you, the reader: What are you thinking about?

 

I would think about a lot of things back then as a newly turning 21 year-old: small, medium, and super-sized. For instance, I would think how I was at the right weight, like 185 or 190, that maybe my patriarchal blessing received two years before from Patriarch Lloyd Taysom proclaimed that I would go on the mission healthy and return healthy. What I thought about in between those times was how I got seriously sick at one point and maybe dropped into the 160s, losing a ton of muscle, and then a few months later in a different area gaining a lot of weight, still being able to do 19-20 pull ups, which is no small feat. I might have weighed north of 200 pounds, because I think I recall being above 96 kilos, which would be 200 plus.

How often do we think about our weight? Every day? 10 times a day? Every time we eat? Likely for a lot of us.

How much do we think about food? Body temperature? Money? Our significant others? Our children? God? Prayer. Praying. Music and specific songs, or artists. Books? Stories? Our eyes? Our ears? Do we think of distinct parts of of our body, like our stomach, hair, nose, or other parts.

 

How much do we think about entertainment like television shows, movies, books, magazines, podcasts, blogs, news items? 

 

How much do we think about politics? Domestic and federal issues. Crime? Area threats or problems?

How often do we think about what we believe? Or what we do with with our beliefs or practices? How often to we try to change our thoughts, some that we think may be damaging?

 

Do we think that some of our thoughts are sinful? Virtuous? Neutral? How much do we think about not thinking about some things?

Do we worry what we think about? How do we think, what do we think, and how long do we think about things? Do we dwell too much on the past, or the present, or the future?

What is the proper balance of thoughts toward all the things that we try to balance in our minds.

No answers here, just thoughts.

What are your thoughts on the subject?

What do you think?

What are you thinking about?

What are you really thinking about?