ON MANAGING LIFE’S STRESSES
Submitted by Bill Matteson
(Author unknown)
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 8 oz. to 20 oz.
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.
• Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.
• 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, but you may also be the world to one person.
• 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.
OUR HERO
Our Hero
Our Mother
Our Best friend like no other
She was the chain
To keep us together
Now we must go on
And keep the chain tight with her spirit in flight.
Go mom — you’re free
Fly like a bird where no one can see ...
In the mountains, the plains, in the sky — like a butterfly.
When you look down just tell the stars to wink
That’s where you’ll be between heaven and me.
In memory of Josephine M. Blanco 1-26-07
By her daughter Jessica Blanco
City of Hope’s Departments of Patient, Family & Community Education and Communications produce Hope Notes. Please contact Linda Baginski, editor, at 626-256-4673, ext. 62978, fax 626-301-8868 or e-mail: lbaginski@coh.org
