The Burden of Stress

Dealing With the Burden of Stress A Great Lesson

A young lady confidently walked around the room explaining stress management to an audience while holding up a glass of water. Everyone was thinking they 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.

Burden Something that is carried. Something that is emotionally difficult to bear. A source of great worry or stress; weight. A responsibility or duty.

Story taken from a forwarded email.