The cycle is one from the people of the past but it's included in the scriptures as a warning to us today. Here is the simplified version. I am posting both because the scriptures are a good reference, but I like the simple drawing because it spells it out for me in an easy way.
This applies to us as a nation, as the world and to us personally. Where are we on this cycle? Where am I? Many times in my life I have been humbled by my own bad choices and the consequences that came because of them. For me, pride and destruction always comes because of my selfishness. I am too afraid to ask for help, or I am too proud to admit my mistake. I put the I in pride!
I put my wants above the pain I may cause others, or the pain I may cause myself later. It's usually a case of "I want it now!"
I am struggling with this today.
There are several types of pride or selfishness. It's not always pride because you think you are better, or more special than others. Sometimes pride is thinking you are not good enough. Sometimes pride tells you that your not worthy. We get unbalanced when we overthink about ourselves in a positive or a negative way.
The best tools of the Devil are either thinking more of yourself or less of yourself. The best answer is: spend less time thinking of yourself! 
We need to be humble and to listen to the Lord. We need to see what we can do to help others. We need to step out of our worries and stress and get out of our own heads.
So much anguish, depression and sorrow is in coveting what others have. It causes us to be dissatisfied with what gifts, bodies, and blessings we do have. It causes us to be ungrateful.
There is also the pride of thinking we are right, or smarter and that causes so much contention. We spend time having unnecessary arguments with people we don't know or, we don't try to understand where they are coming from.
Does that build or take away from the spirit? I am guilty of this myself. When we have fights online it doesn't show the love we would show them in person, or if they were our family.
Aren't we all brothers and sisters? Would we act that way if they were in front of us and not over a keyboard? We don't know their life or their experiences. 
When considering the right thing to do, I have found that it's always best to lead with love. Imagine being in their shoes, imagine how bad their feet hurt. Imagine what they must have gone through, to feel the way they do. Their walk through life has been painful. Their burdens have been heavy, their feet are so very sore.
Maybe that's why Christ showed us his deep humility and example, by washing the feet of the apostles. He knew their walk was difficult, following Jesus Christ then, or now, is hard! 
I need to put my needs in proper order. There are things we HAVE to do to survive. We need to make sure we care for our bodies, our spirits, and our minds, before we can help others.
It's the analogy of the oxygen mask on an airplane. You have to meet your basic needs before you can serve others.
So read your scriptures, eat a good breakfast, get dressed and then get to work! 
But don't do any of those necessary things to excess! If we spend too much time worrying about our needs we get out of balance. We may become sedentary, selfish and pleasure seeking.
The opposite is also true. If we don't take care of ourselves enough, we can get sick, depressed, and we lose our capacity to serve. It's all about balance!
If we take care of ourselves and those around us in the right way then God blesses us with prosperity. Not always in material things, but prosperity of his spirit. 
We have to be so careful about equating financial prosperity with holiness. They are not the same. Sometimes the Lord will grant wealth, so that others can be blessed through us. Most of the time the blessings are in abundance of His spirit.
That's why we are told to not judge the poor, they may be highly blessed of the Lord and we may be spiritually starving.
Those are my thoughts this week. I have a few things I need to adjust in my life to be better aligned with his will. Writing and researching this topic has given me good direction on my next steps to take. Be patient with my stumblings as well because my feet are sore from walking my hard path.
Thanks for reading!
Love, Lori
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