It’s essentially learning to have your feet on the ground. Learning to allow yourself to be vulnerable and let God help you walk. So many times we get lost in the big picture of flying to the stars that we forget the small, but significant process of getting our cape. The cape that enables us to get higher and higher. So, what is the cape? The cape is reading your scriptures, praying, serving, and loving.

To go more in depth, reading scriptures means first having a purpose to dive in and start. Because, let’s face it, reading in general can get boring at times, but reading your scriptures can be even more tedious. A good way to escape that thought of boredom is to first not even let your thought process include it. Do not let yourself think that it is boring. Find a 30 day challenge or think of your favorite scripture and instead of reading just the verse, read the book that it’s in. See what the context is and understand the background. Stimulate your mind and ask questions to yourself and then ask the Lord the same ones.

This goes straight into the next topic, praying. Fall to your knees and throw your pride away for a second. Just talk with God. I’m not saying to tell the Savior what you said to your friend at the grocery store. I’m talking about getting real and letting Him know your fears, even  though He probably already knows them. Not everyday can be this heavy on the heart. Start your prayers off with gratitude and include some light talk about something that happened that day that made you smile. Just talk to Him. I often hear quotes that pertain to always having a prayer in your heart. I try to live by this. And you can too. It doesn’t mean to constantly be praying, but to realize the role prayers can play in your life. To genuinely talk to the Lord in your heart and mind throughout the day, and doing that more than once.

Next up is serving. Gandhi said it best when he said “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”. Most of us have heard this and we may have not fully given it the credit it deserves. I definitely haven’t always done so. I’ve overlooked Gandhi’s words and thought to myself, “yeah, service is great”. But in truth, finding yourself does not mean you are on a hippie mission. It means to first recognize that selfishness creeps in and find its way into every little crevice. Take time to put someone else’s needs in front of yours, even if to you, it seems so small. Bagging up someone’s groceries, folding the laundry, saying yes to the dishes, writing a letter, etc. These may seem small, but they are actually teaching your brain a new habit. Doing the little tasks will one day change your pattern of thinking from “Ah, I’ll just leave it, it looks fine” to already putting the pillows back on the couch before you even think that you don’t have to. It makes the big service projects that come every once in a while, a little easier to say yes to.

And lastly, loving. Oh, loving. It’s a 6 letter word with thousands of feelings attached to it. It can mean a ton of different things, and can be shown in more ways than we can think of. But it only works if you do it. Understand your friend’s and family’s love patterns. Be aware that loving your brother may mean that you have to pay attention when he is talking about Star Wars, or that loving your friend means that you do have to go to that play. Stop allowing yourself to not listen to people. Don’t let the habit of dismissing people’s thoughts build. Acknowledge the person talking and try your best not to get distracted. And if you do, that’s okay. Don’t go straight to doubt or anger, realize you made the mistake and try again.

By doing all of these things, we are, without realizing, rooting ourselves in God. Even without going to 20 hours of church. Even if we do not think we have done enough to be established in the Almighty, we are. Yes, we can always do more and be better, but we are also, doing something. Recognize that.