I was telling a lil story about my experience with polygamy - which
says much more about where my head was during that time,
than it does about polygamy history, I think.
I'll let you decide.
If you don't want to read, or just love the sound of my voice,
click on over to the mini podcast at the button above.
The pod has an additional bonus story
on the same topic.
So, preamble to most of my stories:
I was adopted as an adult into a completely new family.
The link for that story is here.
My new fam's heritage is Utah Mormon pioneer. If you like history, here's the Library of Congress' version of what that is.
(I'm really into links lately.)
The story that I was telling this morning describes how
the heritage of my (new) Mom and
the heritage of my ex-husband's fam
intersect!
Also: I don't think I'm stepping out of line here
in conveying any of these details, btw.
It's factual - it's all true,
it's fascinating,
and I've always thought it was funny. (But I'm a fan of memoir.)
The story begins with Edwin Whiting
born in 1809, in Massachusetts.
He converted to Mormonism at 29 years old.
Before my divorce, I had access to the Edwin Whiting book, seen here. It's a history of his origins and his life in Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and then Utah.
In 1882, polygamy became a felony in the U.S.,
punishable by five years in prison and a $500 fine...
which equals about $15,400 today.Â
Edwin had 5 wives. He married his first three wives in Illinois.
In 1888, Edwin was charged with 'unlawful cohabitation,'
to which he pleaded guilty.
Twelve days later, his sentence was suspended.Â
He was 80 years old.
I love this stuff;
I think it's fascinating how people react to, and within, their culture.
The story: My Mom is a descendant of
Edwin and his first wife, a revered position.
My ex-husband is a descendant of
Edwin's third wife, a teacher and writer.
Our children are descendants of BOTH.
We were related before we got married!
It makes me laugh every time. It's just so good!
There's a regular gathering of Edwin's descendants
in the city of Manti, a lil town in the exact center of Utah,
that he (and his wives) helped to settle.
Upon arrival to the gathering, you check in and get a name tag
stating which wife you're descended from.
One weekend, when our son was four,
we drove down there to walk around and see what they do:
our son had two nametags on his lil polo shirt!
People took his picture!
I guess I find it funny because it is so particular. And perhaps, too,
it gives insight into why I adore memoirs. We all have stories.
You just can't
make this stuff up!
TODAY'S DEEP BREATH: here's a practical juju nugget, a collective Next Best Decision.
Be careful in your actions.
Even in 1888, at 80 years old,
with only 1% of homes in America owning a phone in 1890,
I am able to write the details of a man's life
144 years later -
be careful in your actions.
Though, if you 100% believe in your actions and love your reasons,
in no way would you be embarrassed.
Which explains why people can do crazy things and feel good about it -
they like their reasons.
This is integrity.
There's 8,000 years of historical information online,
with photos and updates every second,
402 million terabytes of new stuff every day.
I mean,
it's a good reason to kind of slow down and
THINK AGAIN
before we act.
60,000 thoughts a day - all with matching emotions...
watching our emotions,
(and more challenging)
watching our thoughts,
is a freaking pass time! LOL
The good news is: most of the 60K are repeats.
95% are repeats, (math warning)
which means we really only have 57 thoughts a day!
Much more doable.
Of those, 75% are negative,
which brings us down to
42 negative thoughts!
In my regular (not daily) self-coaching practice,
I just pull one out and look at it.
Even that is TOO much: it takes 42 days to cover them all.
MUCH EASIER:
I notice I have 3 main emotions that feel bad in my body.
They are anxious, insecure and inferior.
This is what we're emotionally addicted to.
This is the pattern to watch.
What are your top 3 negative emotions?
It won't hurt you to admit they are there.
Accepting them feels waaay better that pushing them away.
That's all I got, man.
Except maybe this:
try leveling up to a 50% negative today!
How? Come to a call and ask me.
MWAH,
Tami
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