The best years are the ones you're living

I told someone recently, "I went to El Salvador in 2013, but I never really came back."

It's true; I still think of that beautiful country and its wonderful people every day. When I finished my mission and came home in January 2015, I left part of my heart behind.

Yet I try not to live in the past too much. As my old mission president David Glazier once said, "I never want to hear you missionaries talk about your missions as the 'best two years' of your lives. The best years of your lives will be the ones in which you're living. Live in the present, not the past!"

I've tried to take that counsel to heart, and it's amazing how the more I pay attention to the present, the more beauty and wonder I experience. It could be a rainbow, a sunrise, the stars. Or a fun activity with a friend, an opportunity to serve, a joke with a coworker.

I love my people of El Salvador. But I love those who surround me now, too. To me, this is one of the secrets of happiness.

Remember the past. Plan for the future. Live in the present. And try to love people!