"The cares of the world that, on occasion, can rob us of cheerfulness are certainly real cares, but they are not lasting cares; they pass with the passing of the world. Like the pleasures of the world, the cares of the world are fleeting.
"Someday, when we look back on mortality, we will see that so many of the things that seemed to matter so much at the moment will be seen not to have mattered at all. And the eternal things will be seen to have mattered even more than the most faithful of the Saints imagined."
- Neal A. Maxwell, Even As I Am (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1982), p. 104
Elder Maxwell often wrote or spoke about very real-world situation. He dealt with his own share of struggles and trials in life, and I think spoke with sincerity and experience.
This perspective about "the cares of the world" is so important. Though they seem heavy and sometimes unending, Elder Maxwell testifies that they truly are "passing" and "fleeting" when we consider the perspective of eternity.
The blessing of perspective! As we look back on our past experiences, we can realize that some things that seemed to matter very much at the time did not deserve all the care we gave to them. But things of eternal worth matter so much more than we sometimes recognize! This principle can apply to the challenges and trials of our life as well, when we recognize the relative value of our learning experiences in the broader perspective.
The grand key to happiness is to learn to see with that divine perspective in the present, not just in retrospect. We must learn to truly value those "eternal things" that will prove ultimately to be the only things that really matter.
(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2019)
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