I think everyone on the planet would agree that during the last two years our stress has increased. Exponentially. And in just about all areas of life.
The Covid-19 pandemic impacted us all in lots of different ways. We’ve changed how we work, shop, parent, learn, worship, travel and gather, to name just a few things. And it’s all been extraordinarily stressful.
While trying to come to grips with my own stress levels, I was reminded of a lighthearted story with an important message. It has gone viral on the internet over the past several years (it’s hard to know whom to attribute it to), and it goes like this:
A young woman leading a seminar on stress management confidently walked around the room with a raised glass of water. Everyone was expecting her to eventually ask the question: “Half empty or half full?” Instead, she asked, “How heavy is this glass of water?” Her audience called out answers ranging from 8 ounces to 20 ounces.
She replied, “The weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I 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 probably have to call an ambulance. In each case, it’s the same weight; but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”
That’s the way it is with stress, she continued. “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, she told them, you must put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can better carry on with the burden, the stress—holding it longer and better each time.
She advised her audience, and I advise you: Put all your burdens down each evening as early as you can. Don’t carry them through the night. Just pick them up again tomorrow, if you must.”
And consider these amusing bits of wisdom:
- Accept the fact 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.
- Read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
- 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 might be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
- Never buy a car you can’t push.
- 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.
- Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.
- We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names. 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.
- Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today.
- Do the best you can all the time and leave the rest to the Almighty.
And maybe most importantly …
20. Save the earth. It’s the only planet with chocolate!