Recently, I read about one of my ancestors, Ann Treasure. Ann's story has inspired me to want to live my life in a more positive way. Ann seemed to understand the Law of Relativity.
Ann Treasure was with pioneers who came west with her family, to be with a community who worshipped as she did. At the age of eight, Ann and her family had to walk many miles to get to Utah. In reading her history I learned that Ann’s feet were very sore from all the miles she walked. Like most pioneers, Ann was faced with many storms that challenged her chance of survival. Nothing was instant like it is now. Ann’s life before and after moving to the state of Utah was just like everyone else, never simple or perfect. As luck was on her side Ann was able to make it to Utah. In Utah her whole family decided to settle down and rest from the long journey. Everything was calm until her mother decided to have another child. When this child was born, unfortunately, Ann’s mother had difficulties when giving birth causing her to die. This left Ann, as the oldest, the duty of filling that spot of motherhood for her siblings. Although this must have been very challenging for Ann, she had been taught and prepared through daily tasks and challenges that helped her. Ann cared for and loved the new baby. Sadly this baby only lived a few months before it passed away.
Later on in Ann’s life she was getting to the age where she could be married. Back then polygamy was practiced and legal. Ann was looking for a husband and married a polygamist. Unfortunately, after some time of being happily married, their luck ran out. Polygamy became illegal in Utah. Ann’s husband, who didn't have any other option, decided to send her off to another state while he went to find work that could support her and their children. Ann received very little money, so she had to call dirt floors and a shaggy roof a home. This never stopped Ann from moving forward, and since she didn’t give up, Ann was able to gather motivation and hope with every trial she had to go through. 
"Old Cabin in Nail Canyon, North Kaibab district"
by Kaibab National Forest Photography is marked under CC PDM 1.0.
To view the terms, visit https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
The Law of Relativity helps us understand that any given situation is neither good or bad, it just is. When you look back on Ann’s life she was faced with many situations where she could’ve easily given up. As I was reading her family journal I noticed Ann talk about all the things she was grateful for. This action blessed Ann with thoughts of hope and happiness. When Ann was left alone with young siblings with no one to guide her, but instead of turning it into a negative experience, she turned into a positive one. If you were to go back and change that specific challenge into a negative experience things would’ve changed drastically. Her siblings wouldn’t have had a motherly figure in their lives. Because she was positive Ann loved and cared for her siblings and had close relationships with them throughout her life.
Thoughts are what help us react and understand what a situation can bring. If someone were to only have the power to think only negative thoughts then their life would be wasted. Once you put the Law of Relativity into action, you're able to understand that situations do not control what we think. Instead we can look at a situation and determine how to think about it and how to react to it. This gives us hope that we have a chance to change our outcomes by changing how we think. Applying the Law of Relativity into our daily lives gives us the chance to change our situations. Ann’s story was really inspirational to me. She did not have an easy life but she always strived to do the best she could in having a positive outlook.
Sophie H.
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