SVEC - My Thoughts on Theme

So, I thought the organizers did a great job overall on the Silicon Valley LDS Mid-Singles Education Conference 2013 - kudos to you all, and thanks for your efforts!

But if I had to sum up the overarching theme that I gleaned from the speakers - it would be a line from the movie, Princess Bride, when Wesley says to Buttercup, "Life is pain, Highness!  Anyone who says differently is selling something."

Another line (suggested by a friend) comes from the book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when Ron is reading Harry his fortune, "… so you're going to suffer but be very happy…"

Anyway, all the speakers had good messages, but they were generally things I needed to hear, not necessarily things that I wanted to hear.  I know Elder Holland said all will be right in the end, this is the Church of Happy Endings, but occasionally I'd like a happy middling, instead of lately feeling like I'm under a little black rain cloud (yes, the Winnie the Pooh song is going through my head, "I'm just a little black rain cloud"... thank you kidlets!).

But I did love that nearly every speaker quoted my favorite dead apostle, Elder Neal A. Maxwell, and many quoted a favorite author as well, C.S. Lewis.

Something I just keep thinking about - the first speaker on Saturday morning, Shanna Parmley (former Sacramento Temple Matron), spoke about finding joy in the journey.  She talked about the importance of having creative outlets to feed our soul, and how Elder Richard G. Scott dealt with the mourning of his wife Janine, by delving into his painting.  Having myself turned to painting when I was swallowed by grief, I know how he felt.  And I realized a few things about myself:

A.  I need to stop feeling guilty and selfish when utilizing my artistic talents - I can't be out helping people all the time, and I need to nourish my own soul so that I always have something in reserve to give to others.

2.  I wonder if there is a correlation between the amount of pain in ones life, and the number of creative outlets one has.  In pondering my own life, I'm thinking that yes, there just might be.  Below is a list of some of the creative outlets I've explored - not saying I'm great at all these things, just that I've tried them:

2D Art: 
Oil Painting
Water Color
Acrylic
Pencil
Colored Pencil
Chalk
Oil Crayon
Charcoal
Cut Paper
Photography
Scratch Board
Airbrush
Calligraphy

Printmaking:
Lithography
Intaglio
Linoleum Block

3D Art:
Glass Blowing
Stained Glass
Welding
Bronze Sculpture Casting
Clay Sculpture
Clay Pottery
Blacksmithing
Wood Carving

Misc art:
Weaving (loom)
Basket Weaving
Bookbinding
Needle point
Cross stitch
Sewing
Quilting
Crochet
Beading

Dance:
Ballet
Tap
Jazz
Baton
Gymnastics
Misc Ballroom/Social Dance

Music:
Piano
Flute
Voice

Other:
Cooking
Baking
Cake Decorating
Architecture
Landscaping
Carpentry
Interior Design
Graphic Design
Illustration
Writing
Poetry

Haha, there ya go (the ones I could remember off the top of my head anyway), so go ahead and draw your own conclusion about the pain I've experienced in my life.  ;)