Our lives will have some days that will be glorious, full of hope and opportunity, and others, perhaps, that may be dismal and filled with discouragement. But through it all there is no need for any one of us to lose his way.
President Thomas S. Monson, "Pathways to Perfection", Deseret Book 1973
When I read this, immediately the phrase..."because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished".
Our Father in Heaven has given us every tool, every resource, that we need to navigate this life successfully and then return to live with Him again. He wants us back. He didn't send us here to figure this out alone. His sole objective is to help us make it back.
However, because of the simpleness of the way, we don't take advantage of our Father's help. At least I don't as much as I should. I don't know if it's my pride telling me that I can do this on my own. Or if it's Satan keeping me distracted. Or maybe I'm just too tired and unmotivated to put in the necessary effort. Most likely it's a combination of all 3. It depends on the day.
So, my focus is to look more "at the staff" so I don't perish. Look towards my Savior. I plan on taking advantage more of the resources I have in front of me...i.e., prayer, the scriptures, the words of modern servants, revelation, good books, etc. The more I look, the less my eyes are closed to the things of God. And the more I do that, the stronger my "looking" muscles become, and the less Satan can distract me.