Daily Inspiration 4-26-11

"It seems that we have it backward in our society.

We tend to look up to people who are under a great

deal of stress, who can handle loads of stress, and

those who are under a great deal of pressure."

-- Richard Carlson

We watch sport after sport where players are under pressure to perform. We watch races that are called victories by one one thousands of a second at 200+ miles per hour. In fact, we see show after show where people are under pressure in one form or another and we look up to them when they can not only handle it, but successfully traverse it, and when they don't, we have a tendency to look down on them--they weren't prepared, couldn't handle the stress or the pressure.

I spent 30 years in the car business and over 27 of them as a sales manager. The hours were stupid, and there was always pressure to perform. I can remember going home late at night as if I had the world on my shoulders. Much of that career I enjoyed, and much of it I didn't.

I suppose you could say that I was practicing handling stress or pressure and putting on a show of doing that, but inside, that was a different story. I wanted out of it.

Today, I have a whole different attitude about this that is best expressed by the following quote by James Allen:

"The strong, calm man is always loved and revered. He is like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm. "Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-tempered, balanced life? It does not matter whether it rains or shines, or what changes come to those possessing these blessings, for they are always sweet, serene, and calm. That exquisite poise of character, which we call serenity is the last lesson of culture, the fruitage of the soul. It is precious as wisdom, more to be desired than gold - yea, than even fine gold. How insignificant mere money seeking looks in comparison with a serene life - a life that dwells in the ocean of Truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the Eternal Calm!"

Now, I admire most, those who demonstrate calmness where others feel pressure and stress. Indeed, to them, there are no such things as pressure or stress. A hundred years ago, the word stress in terms of human psychology was nothing and today, stress is a billion dollar industry. There is stress relief, stress pills, stress therapy, stress counseling, stress-related diseases and the list goes on and on. That's just the ones trying to relieve stress, let alone those promoting the giving of it.

What's interesting is that it is just an idea. It doesn't exist outside of thought, yet it has become so commonplace in our society that this acceptance of it creates its reality. It can be undone as easily as it was done when the choice is made.

We All Get To Choose. Thoughts Become Things.

Spread Some Joy Today--There are lots of ways to get rid of stress and the first is to stop talking about it and believing that it exists. Think joy and freedom.