Total Eclipse- The 1% Difference

To others, the land would be nothing less of desolate. Sage brush infest the ground, growing up to a man's knee, as far as the eye can see. When the wind blows, the dust of the ground lifts up, sometimes circling in the air, a cloud on the ground that one can walk through. Surrounding this land, mountains stand majestically, protecting anything from coming out, and even more importantly, keeping anything from coming in.

Arco, Idaho. Little Loss River. The land of desolate, a place where not many would come. And it is perfect for us.

The sun bares down on us as we look up, eyes covered by our solar glasses, all of us excited. We are about to experience a natural phenomenon- a solar eclipse. The kids are excited, exclaiming, "Look! Can you see! WHOA!" To the naked eye, it appears to be just the sun, yet with the glasses, we see the reality- the moon slowly but surely covering the sun. To me, it's a juxtaposition-the lesser light covering the greater.

We sit, anticipating, counting down the minutes. The moon continues to creep, pulling in closer. The light around us become darker, yet clearer- a developed picture we move through. Eventually, the moon is ALMOST covering the sun. Only a sliver of that greater light is peeking around the circle. The excitement within me is bounding, and I'm in awe at the beauty. The sun is 99% covered by the moon. This light that we rely on daily is almost vanished.

Someone next to me notes, "This is all you would see if you were in Pocatello."

I do not understand what they are talking about. This image is PHENOMENAL! Beautiful! Unlike anything I have ever seen! What do you mean this is ALL they would see in Pocatello? 

I'm about to find out.

I continue looking, the moon creeping, until suddenly... darkness. Nothing. 

What happened? Where did that beauty go? Is this it? The moon has covered the sun, but I expected more! 

Jacob says to me, "Jensen! Take off your glasses! Look!" 

I'm a little afraid, because I've heard the stories of those who became blind when they didn't protect their eyes during an eclipse, so I don't. But I lift my head to look under my glasses to find that everyone else has taken off their glasses, pointing to the sky. So I take mine off... 

It's 11:30 in the morning, yet it looks as if it's 8:55 at night. Strips of pink behind the mountains, through the clouds like a sunset, the air has dropped a few degrees, and in the sky, I see a ring of fire. I see darkness and light coincided together, I see sun rays become misty, I feel time stand still for a moment. 

We are witnessing a FULL solar eclipse. 

That 1% made ALL the difference.

For that minute, we stare, we clap, we whoop and holler, we celebrate. But the moon has a course to fulfill, a schedule to keep, and it's not waiting for us. And just like that, the magnifying beauty is gone. 

My family and I continue to watch for a time. 

It's over, and packing is done. Now it is time to go back to Pocatello, back to reality, and back through all the traffic. Jacob and I talk about what we witnessed, how beautiful it was, how amazing that difference was when the moon only partially covered the sun compared to totally covering the sun. 

I'm reminded of some people we had invited to join us, people who had missed out on this opportunity we had just experienced. One person had said, "I'll be fine in Pocatello, I'll enjoy my eclipse here."

This is all you would see if you were in Pocatello. 

The partial eclipse was BEAUTIFUL and AMAZING... But I am saddened that they didn't experience the TOTALITY of the eclipse.

*** 

I once heard that the word "almost" had been called the saddest word in the English language. To be "almost" something means that you were JUST SHORT of reaching TOTALITY. 

I wonder how many times in my life when I was almost something because I didn't invest 100% of myself into a project or goal, and sadly, there are a few times when I was an "almost person." When I was younger, I tended to quit things that I started: I quit basketball because I wasn't a shooter. I quit tumbling and dance because I didn't think I was as smooth or graceful as the other girls. And even if I didn't QUIT something, there were even more times when I invested only so much time and effort into things, like a paper I needed to write, or a project I procrastinated until the last night before it's due. 

I also know there were many times in my life when I DID invest 100% of myself into things that I felt were important. I invested myself in my jobs, I invested myself in my lifestyle and beliefs and faith. I try to invest myself in my family and in the lives of people that mean the most to me. 

No, I am not perfect, and there are so many things I can improve on. 

But when I choose to invest even that extra 1%, when I truly try my best, there is a difference. 

Losing a family puts things into perspective. I miss them and want to see them again, but I also want to live a life that centers on happiness, joy, and purpose. Living a 99% lifestyle will not allow me to do that. I have to do what I can to allow that. 

And I think that is something that can applied in everyone's lives, in every kind of circumstance. 

99% isn't bad. In fact, it's still an A! 

But 99% isn't 100%.

100% is perfection. 

I'm not talking about the concept that we need to live perfect lives. That's simply not possible. We are going to make mistakes, we are going to have to change. We are going to experience sorrow, anger, and even numbness. We are going to hurt. We are going to experience all kinds of pains. So no, we will not be able to live a 100% perfect life. 

But we CAN be perfectly trying. 

We can be 100% Triers. 

What if today, you decided to be a 100% Trier? 

* What if today, instead of saying, "I can't do this, it's too hard and I don't have the ability," you said, "Challenge accepted."? 

* What if today, you tried to be 100% kind to someone who has hurt you? 

* What if today, instead of grumbling about how inconvenient it is to be helping this person, you invested 100% of your TIME, your EFFORT, and your LOVE to make this person's day just a little bit better?  

* What if today, you tried to be as productive as you can, 100%, and not just 99%? Invest in a talent, invest in a person, do something a little extra? 

What if we ALL were 100% Triers? 

I think that would be more magnificent and more beautiful than a solar eclipse. 

Or even more...

What if we viewed ourselves, or imagined ourselves in COMPLETE TOTALITY? What if we lived in such a way to achieve 100% of what we can become because of the Atonement of Christ, and because of what He did for us? 

Because that's the cool part. THAT is the MAGNIFICENT part.

We CAN achieve totality, not just partial... but TOTALITY. I truly believe that. 

I am not there yet. You are not there yet. But we can be.

So for now, I'm giving myself a challenge.

I'm challenging myself today to be a 100% Trier. I don't want to live a 99% lifestyle. I want to be 100%  invested in my own happiness. There will be mistakes along the way. Sometimes I may even have a less than 99% day. But I'm going to try.  

I'm extending that challenge to you. :) 

Do you accept? 

I bet if we tried, we can experience our own forms of TOTALITY. 

I believe that if we do all we can, He will help us to achieve HIS form of TOTALITY. 

That 1% makes all the difference.