When I Don't Stand Alone

Virtue. By definition, it's a pattern of living that encompasses high moral standards.  It's much more than just chastity. It's much more than just doing what is right when it's easy or when others are watching you.  It's doing what is right all of the time. No matter the circumstances or the consequences. I've been thinking about virtue a lot lately.

As I've been thinking about virtue, and how I can become more virtuous, I have discovered something very interesting-- virtue attracts virtue.  Those who are willing to live a virtuous life seem to pull together.  It's the whole "light attracts light" notion.  While those who are not seeking to live a virtuous life, scorn those who are.  This latter truth is what I'd like to talk about first.

Sometimes, when I'm trying my hardest to do what is right, I feel like I get accosted for it... and quite frankly, it sucks.  It's difficult to know that those who you consider to be your friends do not support you in your quest to be a better person--it's even harder when you realize that they are mocking you for your decisions to live righteously. These times are hard, and it offers an excuse to shrink back into old, comfortable, easy habits--but that's not why I came to this life. I did not come here to be comfortable. I did not come here to please those think I'm trying too hard to be too good. I came here to please my God. 

I'd also like to talk a little about how light attracts light.  Sometimes, as I have been trying to do the right thing, I have felt completely and utterly alone. It seems like every time I am feeling alone in the fight for good, the Lord has a way of reminding me that there are others who are very much like me, close by my side, fighting for the same cause that I am.  Sometimes I get these impressions while I'm at devotional and I see the entire congregation singing, or I feel it after having a talk with a friend, or sometimes, I just see people do good things on campus that remind me that I am not alone.  I love that reassurance.  I love seeing a throng of good people trying to do their best. I love that they, like me, do not have to be perfect yet, only trying to be.  I love talking to my friends, because when we get to know those who surround us, we come to realize that the emotions we feel are much the same as those who surround us. Sometimes the experiences that bring us to feel those emotions are much different, but the emotions associated with those experiences are the same, and those similar emotions are what allows us to help create bonds with those who surround us.  And I love seeing people do good things.  The good acts of strangers have often inspired me to do a little better, and have given me hope that I am not alone in the cause.

I am so grateful that when I feel like I am standing alone, I am not. I know that I always have the Lord and my Heavenly Father on my side, but there are a ton of good people all around me too.