How heavy are your burdens?

A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience raised a glass of water and asked: "How heavy is this glass of water?" People in the audience started shouting out different weights. The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you to 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."

This little illustration reveals to us how burdens that we carry become increasingly heavier and heavier, until eventually we can't go on. As with the water you have to put it down once in a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.

So, before heading home from work today, why not put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up again tomorrow. Whatever burdens you are carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. For years I used to carry my work home with me and then after I ate supper I would work on my work for another couple of hours or so and this of course cut into my families time. Finally my wife brought it to my attention that all I do is work and the boys and her look forward to me coming home and then what do I do? I work! Thanks to her I decided to quit bringing work home and I was amazed that the work still got done and I felt better that I was getting to spend more time with my family. Changing our behavior can make all the difference in reducing our stress. We need to take time to simply RELAX. Put down anything may a burden on you right now. Don't pick it up again until after you have rested for a while. Life is short... enjoy it!

Here are some great 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 have to eat them later.





• Always read stuff that will make you look good if you were to 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 may 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!




• 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.




• 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 crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and 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.




• Keep life simple!

Mat 6:27
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not.