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Stressing the Mind

DeviantArt deviantwear Stress Balls I’ve been listening to the Dune audiobook and have fallen in love. Don’t ask why a Sci-Fi junkie like myself hasn’t read it yet, but I’m about 2/3 of the way through and love it. I especially like the audiobook from Audible with different voices and a little background music at times, I almost wonder if I would enjoy the book as much.

While listening the following line came up.

The mind can go in either direction under stress - toward positive or toward negative.

This is an entirely true statement that I forget all too often.

There are many times when I think the balance of everything is held together by a string, and it would be so easily to change just once thing and turn the world upside down.

When there is a ton of work for my job, plus volunteer pressures and family life, I sometimes trend toward shutting down or retreating instead of recognizing all the gifts that I have, a job, a great community and a wonderful family. I have more opportunities to help others in ways I can’t even imagine, but sometimes I think about what can go wrong instead of what will go right.

Removing stress isn’t the answer, at least not for me. I have considered that a few times, getting a lazy job where I work and get paid for an 8 hours day without really making an impact. I’ve stopped doing anything with church for a while, and found myself missing the community and the heart that is St. Matthew’s. In all cases our gift is to improve this world for those around us. That’s not possible without a little stretching of ourselves and, of course, a bit of stress.

In stressful times the mind can trend toward the positive or the negative…

What are you repeating to yourself so that you’re trending to the positive?

Peace,
Tom

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