On the outside, I try to project an image of having it all together. But underneath that, I'm kind of a disaster. Hence... the name of the site: GlossyVeneer. The past little bit I’ve been feeling really stressed. Carrying the weight of my worries in my joints, neck, back… I’m so uptight and knotted up. Yoga and running provide a reprieve, but it only lasts as long as the practice/run.
- I’m stressed over my job, stupid little details that are irking me no matter how lame they may be.
- I’m stressed over my husband’s health.
- I’m stressed because I haven’t eaten enough vegetables today.
- Food in general is causing me stress lately.
- I’m stressed over finding a painter for my house.
- I’m stressed about keeping my house cleaned.
- I’m stressed because my vacuum isn’t working and the house desperately needs to be vacuumed.
- I’m stressed over the stupid black widows that have been taking over my yard.
- I’m stressed about meeting my fundraising minimum for my Team In Training event.
- I’m stressed about things that are purely “What if?” things right now. Things that aren’t even reality yet are bugging me.
Most of the things that are bothering me seem pretty insignificant, I feel stupid even spelling them out right now. It’s just that all of them together are taxing my brain.
A co-worker forwarded a message to me today. Most of the time I just delete things from this person because the messages are always chain letters, urban legends, stories designed to scare warn women about rapists lurking around every corner… general wastes of my time. But today, I opened the message and found this:
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.
Sage advice.
