I didn’t write this story, but read it on Facebook and wanted to
share it. It’s a perspective on life
that I think we all know deep down, but forget in the day-to-day chaos of
living. It goes like this:
A psychologist walked
around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a
glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full”
question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this
glass of water?”
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, it’s not a problem.
If I hold it for an hour, I’ll
have an ache in my arm. If I hold it
for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t
change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”
She continued, “The
stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing
happens. Think about them a bit longer
and they begin to hurt. And if you
think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing
anything.”
I think it’s such a great reminder that it doesn’t matter
whether the glass is half empty or half full… what matters is that any burden
carried long enough will have negative effects.
To be healthy we have to learn to set the glass down…to step away from
the stresses of our day.
What are you holding onto?
How heavy is your glass? ~
Love this, Susan!
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