Gratitude is Happiness Doubled by Wonder

  The two attached photos are from Dry Canyon near my home. The first was taken in the mid-day light and things had dried out pretty thoroughly. The second was in the evening after a storm when things were very moist. In the first, the colors are faded, and the leaves look like they would crumble if touched. But in the second, the colors are vibrant and the contrasts are pronounced - it almost looks like early autumn! Photographers talk about "the golden hours" of the day - times in the morning and evening when the light is soft and gentle, as opposed to the more bright and harsh light through the middle of the day. That's the prime time for taking pictures, because of the way things "come alive" during those times. It's interesting how different something can look based on the light it's seen in. It's yet another reminder that sometimes we assume characteristics of a person or situation based on the "light" at a given time. But when we al

I'm especially happy today to #GiveThanks for my wife, my companion, my fellow-traveler, my partner in life and eternity. Happy Birthday Bonnie Kenison ! It took me a while to find her - I graduated from college and moved to Manassas, Virginia for my first job with IBM, where fate (or luck or divine intervention) brought us together. Then it took three more years to convince her to marry me! She's definitely an eastern/southern girl, and she's proud of it. We've been blessed in our life together. We had a daughter born to us and adopted a son - the two greatest blessings that came to us. Now our joy has expanded to our seven grandchildren. We lived in 3 states and 5 houses together. We both survived having cancer and covid. We've traveled around the US and to many countries, swam at beaches and hiked in mountains, supported each other in employment and church callings, retired and served a mission together. We have learned much and been blessed much. And "the

  I hope this little graphic resonates with you like it does with me. We humans are complicated creatures, compared to our dogs. We have so many things that worry and concern us in our lives, so many challenges and issues, frustrations and disappointments, responsibilities and expectations. Those are hard things to carry in our minds and hearts. We also have plenty of successes and joys, pleasures and accomplishments. But for many of us, the negative things seem to weigh more heavily and dominate - they push the positive ones into the background, forcing us to miss out on many good things. There are occasionally times when each of us feels that in ways we seem unable to control. Our lucky pets, on the other hand, don't feel the weight of those concerns. In their simple lives, they just live in the present and enjoy the moment. We can learn an important lesson. There is a great "cleansing" that comes to our mind when we force ourselves, periodically, to put all the "h

My "Memories" on Facebook brought me photos of this experience in Big Cottonwood Canyon three years ago. I love mountain climbing, but haven't done as much of this type of rock climbing. It's a thrilling experience to go straight up a sheer rock face for a few hundred feet, connected only to a thin rope the diameter of your finger. And then you descend, rappelling back down, almost free-floating, bumping onto and off the cliff as you gradually lower yourself on the rope. It's incredibly exhilirating to achieve something that looks so unachievable. It's a thrilling experience! And not as terrifying as it might look, if it's done right. And "doing it right" means meticulousliy following safety procedures. You don't just climb straight up a sheer cliff (unless you're a special kind of crazy and profoundly experienced, and there are some people like that). Most of us use many safeguards: harnesses, tethers, ropes, belays, anchors - a whole pr

  "Rainy days and Mondays always get me down." - Karen Carpenter Since today was both a rainy day (in Utah) and a Monday (most everywhere), this song came to mind. It's a rather depressing set of lyrics made famous in 1971 by Karen Carpenter. Talkin' to myself and feelin' old Sometimes I'd like to quit, nothin' ever seems to fit Hangin' around, nothin' to do but frown Rainy days and Mondays always get me down What I've got they used to call the blues Nothin' is really wrong, feelin' like I don't belong Walkin' around, some kind of lonely clown Rainy days and Mondays always get me down The song does show a glimmer of hope when it talks about finding some relief from the blues with "the one who loves me," but even Karen's lovely, lilting voice can't rescue the gloom of the overall message. I choose to disagree! First of all, when you're retired, there's no need to be depressed by a Monday.

  It's impossible to hold a tiny infant in your arms, especially one personally connected to you, and not be filled with wonder and amazement. You can see the miracles looking backward and looking forward. A human life starts with microscopic cells. Male and female unite to form a zygote, which rapidly begins to split and evolve into an embryo. Somehow the full dynamic of the process is embedded inside those tiny cells. With very few anomalies, the development proceeds, time after time, step by step, week by week, as the embryo grows inside its host mother. Portions of the tissue change and specialize; somehow the growth continues, on schedule, month after month, in that protected environment. Then the point is reached where the growth can't continue in that space, and the additional miracle of birth occurs - the baby joins our world. How can that astonishingly rapid development, in that closed environment, lead from tiny cells to a self-contained, breathing, moving, functionin

  Recently I found my son and his kids in the driveway playing basketball, something they love to do. But this time there was an adjustment. I was curious to see three separate hoops in place. The regular one was for Dad, the middle one was for the 6-year-old, and the small one for the 3-year-old. That way they could each participate, to the level of their abilities. Brilliant, Matthew Kenison ! I love the imagery. You can't expect a 3-year-old to have the strength and ability to throw a ball at a 10-foot rim. But she can occasionally make a basket with a smaller ball on a 3-foot rim! And the boy in between, though he has a strong arm and great aim for his age, clearly has a more equal opportunity at 5 or 6 feet. It is human nature to compare our own abilities to the performance of others, and to emphasize feelings of inadequacy when we fall short compared to them. But often the problem is that we haven't had the time to grow, to develop, to gain strength or experience like ano

  When I was hiking earlier today beside a "babbling brook" making its way down from the mountains, enjoying the soothing sounds and noticing how the surrounding area was nourished, I was reminded of this quote and had to come home and look it up. "It is difficult to find anything more healthy to drink than good cold water, such as flows down to us from springs and snows of our mountains. This is the beverage we should drink. It should be our drink at all times." - Brigham Young, Aug 17 1867, JD 12:122 In the 1860s, the other things that concerned Brother Brigham in his remarks were "tea, coffee, spirituous liquors" - there were not many other beverages available back then. But I pondered his wisdom, and realized there is merit in his words even today, when we have scores of options of sodas, juices, and many liquids with a variety of artificial additives to choose among. Is there REALLY anything better than cool, pure, clear water?? I do love to find safe

It's been "Earth Week" at the Kenison home. We've been working hard to care for and beautify the little plot of earth that legally "belongs" to us. We've spent several hundred dollars and (what feel like) several hundred hours tilling nutrients into the flower beds, planting new bushes, covering everything with mulch, and preparing for flowers in a few weeks. It's exhausting work for middle-aged people more used to sitting in front of computers! My Daddy was a farmer. He knew how to work and care for his earth. He was raised on a homestead in the Uinta Basin where he learned the trade; after a few years in other vocations, he realized his dream and purchased a farm in West Mountain. He was able to work it for 5 or 6 years before an accident ended the dream. But he had passed on appreciation for the earth to his young son. I didn't follow in his footsteps, but I do love to garden and landscape, and always feel a kinship to my Dad when I get REAL d

  Anyone want to guess why I like taking my grandchildren to this park near our home? (That's my grandson on the left in the red shirt, doing the "tricky bars," and my granddaughter on the right in a white shirt atop the climbing structure.) Of course, I #GiveThanks to Orem City for the beautiful parks that are well-maintained by the city, and for this new play equipment in our park. It's nice to have such wonderful recreation sites for children. Of course, I love seeing our little ones exercising, interacting with other children, and being entertained, especially in an outdoor setting. But in addition to all of that, I come for the view! I love how our glorious mountains on the Wasatch Front rise so abruptly from the valley floors, giving us spectacular vistas of these majestic peaks. I love that I have had the privilege of being atop almost all of them, most of them many times - looking up often brings back wonderful memories of the thrill to be up there, looking d

  [NOTE - this post was published on the day that the verdict in the George Floyd murder case was announced.] The symbol of "Lady Justice" is a personification of principles of public justice that has origins in Roman mythology and has been on display at least since the time of Christ, with some elements dating back to ancient Egypt. The common elements of the depiction are scales (to measure the relative merits of support and opposition in a case), a sword (exercise of authority), and a blindfold (symbol of impartiality). Variations of this allegorical symbol can be found today in representations around the world - see attached images. Compared to the scale and sword, the blindfold is a relatively new addition; the first appearance is on a statue in a public fountain in Berne, Switzerland in 1543. Probably the idea of impartiality was implied by the balance scale, which should weigh the evidence objectively, especially in the hands of a young maiden. But the blindfold is a m

  Q: What do these two items have in common? A: They are both small kitchen appliances used to cook food. Q: How do these two items differ? A: One takes a long time to cook, and one cooks very fast. Q: Which one is better? A: Both of them. Q: Isn't faster always better? A: Nope. We've seen a significant movement to speed things up in our time. Even more than an InstantPot, we have microwave ovens to cook or reheat our food as fast as possible. We like freeways where the speed limit is high, enabling us to get to our destination faster. Airplanes are faster and more efficient than ever. We like to rush through schooling, shorten our meetings (including worship services), get packages delivered overnght, speed up communication, have the fastest Internet possible, pick the shortest line in the grocery store. We're always in a hurry! There is merit in speeding up menial tasks, to be sure. Spending less time on things that matter less should allow us to spend more time on things

All of us are products of those who preceded us, in ways that are sometimes hard to identify. We are most directly influenced by our parents, and sometimes have been blessed to know and learn from grandparents as well. But all who went before have contributed to the environment, family customs and traditions, learning, genetic tendencies, and spiritual foundation that make us up. My maternal grandmother, Elise Schmid Frey, had a profound and direct influence on me for which I #GiveThanks . She was born 126 years ago today, April 18, 1895, in a little town in southern Germany. She was the 14th of 17 children (from the same mother and father!), most of whom survived childhood. She married and had only two children, my mother and my uncle. Some remarkable personal experiences led her to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the late 1920s. When her husband died at the beginning of WWII, she and her children survived horrible challenges during the war in Germany {that I h

Last week in Utah, the weather was beautiful with temperatures in the 70s. This week, a nice spring cold front moved through and brought lots of rain to the valleys and snow to the mountains. I enjoyed getting out for a hike once I could, and was thrilled to see these delightful conditions in the foothills, where seasons are colliding. It's easy to get our hopes up in the spring; we have a week of unseasonably warm weather, and we put away the snow shovels and winter boots. Even nature agrees, as the hills start to turn green and we see plants and blossoms sprouting all over. Then a snow storm dumps its whiteness on us and we have to postpone our enthusiasm, just a little. In this case, it was even more confusing. The late afternoon light with overcast skies made the trees glow like it was peak autumn! These are the scrub oaks and other trees that hold their dead and dry leaves until the spring instead of letting them "fall in the fall." But the glowing color almost made