Monday, November 19, 2007

Words from a daughter...slow down, enjoy life

My daughter is pregnant with her 3rd child, working on her Master's Thesis, cares for 2 children under 4, and works full-time as an educational Title One Director. She does all this while her husband works 12 hours away and is only home a few days out of the week. And I think I'm stressed.

This morning, I received the following message in my email box:

"Mom,

I know I am the last person who should be telling you not to stress about work. That is the pot calling the kettle black. But, I think that both of us need to learn to slow down and enjoy life a bit more. I printed this and have taped sections of it to the wall in my office and on my mirror at home as a reminder that life is short, money will come and go, and stress is not worth it. Thank you very much for all your help this weekend. I like coming home. Love always"


I have no idea who should receive credit for this, but it sure made my day. Hope it uplifts and sheds new perspective on what's really important in life.
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A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 8 ounces to 20 ounces.

The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you 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, I'll have to call an ambulance."

"In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. 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."

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1) Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

2) Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

3) If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

4) It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

5) Never buy a car you can't push.

6) Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

10) Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

11) Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

12) The second mouse gets the cheese.

13) When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

14) You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

15) 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.

As we move into this busy holiday season, may we all take time to put down our burdens, slow down, and enjoy life. Remember, the truly happy person is the one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"12) The second mouse gets the cheese."

Hahahahaha I am SO gonna use this! ;p

MWAH!

PJ