A young lady confidently walked around
the room while reading and explaining
stress management to an audience with a
raised glass of water, and everyone knew
she was going to ask the ultimate
question: 'half empty or half
full?'..... She fooled them all... "How
heavy is this glass of water?" she
inquired with a smile.
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to
20 oz.
She replied, "The absolute 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 have
to call an ambulance. In each case it's
the same weight, but the longer I hold
it, the heavier it becomes."
She continued, "and that's the way it
is with stress. 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 -
holding stress longer and better each
time practiced.
So, as early in the evening as you can,
put all your burdens down. Don't carry
them through the evening and into the
night... pick them up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you're carrying now,
let them down for a moment. Relax, pick
them up later, after you've rested. Life
is short. Enjoy it and the now
'supposed' stress that you've conquered!"