I’m going to start out this post by being very up-front with all of you; I am under a lot of stress. Yes, I know, we all are but recently my stress level has really skyrocketed. Some of it has to do with things in the workplace, some of it has to do with changes and challenges in my personal life and some of it amounts to a habit of thought I got into while I was down with the flu a few weeks ago. You’ve probably noticed that there haven’t been too many posts from me lately and for that I apologize but the creative juices have just dried up and it’s been very difficult to compose something new for quite some time.
Well this weekend I accidently found myself with some free time; some plans I’d made fell through and I was left with a couple days “plan-free”. Now Russ likes to insist that I am a Type “A” personality to which I respond that I will gladly work longer and harder than anyone else to prove him wrong! But I DO have a slight tendency to put more on my plate that I should and so it was tempting to do the same with all that free time I stumbled into this weekend. But on Saturday night as I was raking up the last of the leaves in the yard I took a moment to just stop and “be still”. The sunset was beautiful in the cool Fall evening and the smell of the leaves and wood smoke from someone’s chimney combined into that special scent that only Autumn brings. My rooster crowed his hens to roost and way off at the bottom of the hill I could just make out the sound of the creek water spilling over the stones. Everything was peaceful and quite and calming and reminded me how much I love living in the country.
I guess that moment of peace touched off a deeper change in my perspective for the rest of the weekend as I found myself stopping more to enjoy the world around me. I guess I just really took the time to APPRECIATE all the blessings in my life. Not just my place in the country but my kids, my friends and my extended family. It’s amazing how simple that sounds and yet how profoundly it affected my stress levels! I found that I wasn’t worrying about undone projects at work, about bills or situations in my personal life. A Man just can not appreciate the goodness in his life and be stressed out at the same time . . . it’s just impossible!
It is so easy to get wrapped up in worry and caught up in deadlines and projects and to-do lists but while many of those things are important they aren’t worth the damage to your health or the lost pleasure in your life that such stress can and does bring with it. Not to say we all need to just sit back in a lotus position and meditate on the abstract . . . a little stress is good and healthy since it motivates us to get done what needs doing. But – if your like me – it’s important to remember to take the time to enjoy life and adopt an attitude of appreciation for the goodness and pleasure in your life.
As divorced dudes I think this lesson is especially valuable as most men going through a divorce are dealing with more stress than probably any other time.
Worth a thought anyway
Be well
Bill
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