A seminar speaker, 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 speaker 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 by explaining that it is the way it is with stress management.

“If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burdens become increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you must put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. 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 are carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. So, my friends, put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don’t pick it up again until after you have rested a while.”

The speaker 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 must eat them.

Always wear stuff that will make you look good, just in case you may die today.

Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be “Recalled” by their maker.

If you can’t be kind, at least have the mercy 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 be kind 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.

If everything is 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 a box of crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all must live in the same box.

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

To those reading, this article, have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today…I did!

 

Reposted from: The Rev. Dr. Warren Watts Counselor’s Corner

Presented as a community service by the Rev. Dr. Warren Watts, Tri-County Pastoral Counseling Service, Martinsburg.