*Awareness, My Silly Thoughts, Emotions, and the Holy Ghost

So I kinda had a rough morning, just feeling a little down. Knowing it had partly to do with my hormones this time of the month, I spent my morning observing my thoughts and consequent feelings. Lots of thoughts, mostly negative. One innocent random thought about putting recipes on my blog, lead to a positive one, and then down the path of negativity. It went something like this: I can put on my blog that I'm an amazing cook, but really not so much a baker. And why is that, I wonder? It's not that I'm bad at baking. I just don't like to. Usually that's the opposite. People love to bake and hate to cook. Maybe I don't like to bake because it's really not necessary. I'm a simple person. I like to get in, get out, and get the job done. I don't need the extra frivolous stuff. It's an extra bonus I usually don't take time for, in my mind. Why? Then I began relating that whole perspective to myself. (And here's where the negativity started creeping in...) You see, I don't picture myself as the icing on the cake, or even the cake for that matter. I'm more like the baking pan, or the simple plate the lovely cake is sitting on. Don't get me wrong--I have great purpose! (At least I was trying to convince myself of this at the time...) And then I noticed that I started feeling sad about some of those thoughts. I'm just a lowly blackened baking pan supporting all the lovely cakes around me. That thought was definitely not helping me feel good, and it was diminishing my purpose! (Okay, so I have a lot of whacky thoughts going on, don't we all? Mine just might be a little crazier than yours...) But I allowed the sadness to come, and because I was in this amazing state of awareness, it kind of felt good to feel that negative emotion. Knowing I wasn't running from it, knowing where it was coming from, and knowing I could handle it--I just felt it, relaxed into it--became of where I felt it and what it felt like and maybe what it looked like if I were to describe it. I got good and comfortable feeling sadness for a few minutes. And as I sat in the closet getting dressed for the day, the sadness dissipated. And I had the thought, "Does Heavenly Father think of me that way? How does He see me?" And then the most wonderful feeling of comfort came over me as I felt His answer. He sees me as the most beautiful pedestal cake stand--the kind with great purpose in holding the cake up, and also accenting the cake--part of the whole display!  My beauty doesn't take from the cake, but adds to the entire beauty of it. I have purpose and beauty all my own. That is how God sees me in this silly model of mine! Whether you're the cake, the icing on the cake, the flowers, the beads, the cake stand, or however you see yourself, the Lord sees us as so much more! Because we are more than we know. We are amazing, created by an even more amazing Creator. And the more we turn to Him, and believe Him, the more we will see ourselves and others as He does, and the more we will become what He sees. We have power to direct our minds as we watch our thoughts, which we are told to do in Mosiah 4:30. He says that if we do not watch ourselves and our thoughts, our words and deeds, and observe the commandments and continue faithfully, we will perish!
Summing it up: During a bad morning, I took the opportunity observe and feel my negative emotions--really being aware of my silly thoughts and feelings in those moments and what directing they were taking me. After I had allowed myself to feel the sadness, my awareness brought clarity and I then experienced the sweet comfort of the Spirit. My awareness helped me see where my thoughts were leading, and I was able to redirect my thoughts in a positive uplifting way, lead by the Spirit. That Spirit whispered beautiful thoughts to my mind. If I hadn't been aware--and maybe if I hadn't allowed myself to feel the negative emotion--the whispering and comfort I felt after may not have come at all. The comfort may not have been as sweet. Awareness is key. Remember it's ok to process your emotions, and really feel them. But notice as you let your brain go too far. You can always reign it in, redirect it, and allow the Spirit to whisper beautiful thoughts. 2 Nephi 9:39 "Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal."