I got this email from a friend today. I think the same thing is true not only about stress but also about sadness.

The aphorisms at the end are a little cheesy and a little cliche, but cheese and cliche are often true. I like #5 a lot. And of course, #16 seems to fit into the theme of this place quite nicely.

I’m getting together with friends tonight. Even though I’ve already got over 60 hours of work in this week and have several more left undone. I need to set it all down for a little while.

I think we’ll go see a funny movie.

*********

Stress
A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked
‘How heavy is this glass of water?’

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.
The lecturer replied, ‘The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance.

In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.

He continued, ‘And that’s the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.’

‘So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it home.
You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, Let them down for a moment if you can.’

So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don’t pick it up again until after you’ve rested a while.

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

1. Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue.
2. Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
3. Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
4. Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
5. If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
6. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
7. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply be kind to others.
8. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.
9. Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.
10. Since it’s the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
11. The second mouse gets the cheese.
12. Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
13. You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
14. Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
15. We could learn a lot from crayons… Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
16. A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

— — —
A year ago (or longer) on This Journey…

The Journey continues 2008
Not my first rodeo 2007
whew 2007
And now the snow 2007

February 6th, 2009 | Category: Mental Health | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL