How do you handle stress. We all have it at one time or another, some deal with it way more often than others, and we all handle it differently. What stresses you out may not stress me out and vice versa. Some of the stresses that come to mind that I know I have at one time or another stressed about are my job, my family, my marriage, myself, my friends, the news, the way someone else drives, etc. I know others who have stressed about the same things and a whole lot more. Some days it seems we are bombarded with it to the point of screaming or yelling or pulling our hair out, or venting to someone/anyone who will listen. There has been no shortage of stress lately either with the sale of the house, subsequent move, and the searching for new jobs. The level for me has not been too high of late, because I am just not too worried about it....yet. It is still in the very early stages of everything. We all have ways that we cope with stress. One thing that has helped (just yesterday in fact)..... we were driving home from Manitoba and on the highway there were three police cars pulled over on the shoulder with lights flashing. As we got up closer we could see a van in the ditch with part of the passenger windshield smashed in. When we got home that night the story was already on the news that a 15 year old girl had died after being thrown from the vehicle. Times like these make me stop and ask myself "What really matters?" and "Do I really need to stress over things that when you stop and look at the problem ... it really is not that bad". I cannot imagine life without my son, or wife or very close friend killed in a car accident. Nor can I imagine how the driver of the van must be feeling. My stress is so infinitesimal by comparison. It is so unfortunate to use someone elses grief as a means to cope with our own stress, but this helps me to realize that my stress ain't shit by comparison. The two videos above are connected to the title of this blog "Sissy's Song". In the first video, Alan Jackson explains why he wrote the song. The second video is someone using sign language to describe the song. The third video is the actual Alan Jackson video of the titled "Sissy's Song". When I see how badly others are stressed by their life situations, I realise I have it pretty damn good. So next time you think you are really stressed (over a work issue or a relationship problem).......... think about it......and ask yourself how it really compares to the loss of a friend or family member. Amazing how the stress we thought we had goes away.
