Saturday, May 12, 2007

Chill

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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. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!"

And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world to some people, but to one person, you may be the world.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* 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.
* A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

For the record, I am not stressed. I have been (like you couldn't tell), but most of it is now out of my system. After The Big Stress, everyday run-of-the-mill stressors are small potatoes. Like, I got a rejection notice this week and it didn't even faze me. As long as I don't think about The Big One, the residual ooga-booga neener-neener effects won't get me. "Impervious to stress" may be the dumbest thing I never said, but what the heck. For the nonce, I am claiming im-freaking-pervious. And it had better hold for at least twenty-four hours. If I make it through another night without lightning striking me down, and another, and then another few, it will by default be a true statement, no? Yes. Shoot, I'm so cool, calm, and stress-free that I'm thinking of taking up snake handling or something.


Your Love Number is 6

Who you fall in love with is all about who you trust.
Loyalty is important to you, and you want the most faithful of lovers.
In return, you never let your heart or eyes wander.
Open and honest, your relationships tend to be free of secrets.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a powerful and inspiring post serena.
Thank you so much for sharing it.

Your Love Number is 4

You are a creative and expressive lover - a true romantic at heart.
An introspective soul, you know exactly how your ideal relationship should be.
But if you don't get that ideal, you tend to get a bit pouty and dramatic.
You need someone who can roll with the punches, that's for sure!

ThatGreenyFlower said...

My love number is 83. Wait, I mean 1. I think that means I'm better off alone, one being the loneliest number and all...

I am glad you're impervious, my dear. We all need those days.

Serena said...

Glad you enjoyed it and took something from it, TC.

These "love numbers" are proving most interesting. #4 definitely sounds like good people.

Serena said...

Did you really score a "1," Greeny? What is the profile? I don't think it means better off alone. LOL.

I don't know if impervious is true. Sometimes I lie to myself. However, I also excel at fooling myself, so we shall see.:)

rkfinnell said...

***Your Love Number is 1***


You tend to be a stubborn lover, holding your ground in every argument
You take your time falling in love. You aren't the type to lose perspective.
You are loyal (to a fault), and you require the same loyalty in your sweetheart.
At your best, you are a wise and inspiring partner - who sticks around.

tfg said...

The quiz said that my Love Number is -47 and provided directions to a seedy street corner where the local hookers ply their trade.

Serena said...

#1 sounds pretty good to me, Roxan. Taking one's time can't hurt.

LOL, T. Sounds like you're as bad off as I am. Just make the hookers take the quiz first so you'll know what to expect.

Anonymous said...

I had lots of stress before I hung my hat up. Now I only have stress for my wife.

Camille Alexa said...

***Your Love Number is 1***


You tend to be a stubborn lover, holding your ground in every argument
You take your time falling in love. You aren't the type to lose perspective.
You are loyal (to a fault), and you require the same loyalty in your sweetheart.
At your best, you are a wise and inspiring partner - who sticks around.

___________________

I can't agree with all of the above.

Serena said...

What's causing the stress, Steve? Hope everything's okay.

Don't worry about it, Littlebird. I don't think it's all that scientific.:)

Hale McKay said...

Those were some great points your boss gave.

My favorite:

Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.

MXI said...

Love Number 2-
Of all the numbers, you are the most caring and empathetic lover.
Unselfish and humble, you find it easy to forgive your sweetie's mistakes.
At times, your need to please can be come a bit too needy.
As long as you remain somewhat independent, your relationships are perfectly balanced.

Do I sound pathetic or what?

I don't stress over things I can't fix.

I was recently in a vehicle with a friend who was late for an appointment, and we had to wait for a train. I tried explaining that since we are unable to make the train go faster what is the sense of getting all worked up, it will end when it ends. So that is how I live (mostly) if I can fix it I do and if I can't I go with the flow.

Serena said...

That IS a good point, Mike.

Caring, empathetic, forgiving -- ain't nothin' wrong with that, MXI. The train analogy makes perfect sense to me. I always know that deep down -- that things will end when they end and not a second before. I am guilty of impatience a lot of the time, though, which doesn't help one's stress levels.

Anonymous said...

Serena, sorry about the confusion. Not stress from my wife, but over her. I'm retired and she still works. When she has a hard day, like lots of folks, I feel it. Wish I could take her stress for her. Not a big thing. Just a husband wanting to make life easy for a wife.