Individuality Shines Through

I have been having serious thought as to whether the LDS church is the only place that you can find true happiness. In the devotional on Tuesday, September 20th, 2011, the speaker brought up that you need to feel like you have purpose in life to be happy, and that an atheist or someone of another belief can have a personal fulfilling and happy life just as well as someone of our faith that feels that they have purpose. I liked what he said because so many times it seems that people of our faith feel like other people are not truly happy when they really are. If in their mind they feel like they have purpose and enjoy life, they are just as happy as those in the church that in their mind have a purpose and enjoy life. I personally think that everyone has to find their own purpose in life, and I feel that my classes in college and life experiences at this moment in my life will help me find that purpose. 

Everyone is a unique individual with different thoughts, mannerisms, and appearances(usually: besides identical siblings). With these differences also comes a unique individuality with that person. I feel that each and every person has their purpose in life where they will be truly happy. Their happiness may seem odd to others, but it is their own life, and wherever they feel happy is where they will shine the most, and be able to express themselves fully and be happy with their life. 

People may find it odd when a persons ideal of happiness differs from societal ideals of happiness or even when it differs from an organization's ideal of happiness. Conforming to other persons ideal of happiness limits the individual and does not allow them to be fully open and true to themselves and their sense of purpose is lost. Many people are born into churches, ill situations, and into trials in their life and conform to what they have been raised in even though they personally reject what they have been raised into. Living without a purpose, happiness, leads to depression and in "rare" situations suicide. The third leading cause of death in the nation is suicide. 

‎"Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death, and more than five of six people who commit suicide are men. Each day, 10 young men kill themselves! Despite this high risk, friends and family consistently speak of their "complete shock"..men successfully conceal their vulnerabilities." Will Courtenay