StresszzZest.

Whew! feeling irritable, indifferent; petty complaints, pressured at work, burnout at home, grueling, grumblings, grouchiness, short attention span and exhaustion? ----These are signs of stress. Remember, you'll never get to know them, till you say to yourself, " I've had enough! I'm sick and tired of this…" and for your finale, " I QUIT!"

I have read a lot of books regarding stress-releasing, stress-relieving or stress-management articles and journals. They all boil down to one thing: get away from its sources. What ever we do, which ever way we go, stress factors are also always on-the-go. Stress is everywhere and anywhere. Traffic jam, crowds, noises, hunger, school, work, and, believe it or not, even in the state of too much joy and too much pleasure can be possible sources of stress. Meaning... it's a part of life. Think about this. Stress has been with us since we were born. Every baby being born, cries. Why? Imagine yourself in a very peaceful, quiescent, warm, comfortable, water-bed surroundings and most especially, so close with your mother; then, suddenly subject yourself now with a so cold, queer, weird, uncomfortable, mid-air-hanged position, with matching slap shot on your back by an unknown guy, the obstetrician, then being taken away from mother… Arrrgh! Uh ha, uh ha, uh ha… The same scenario we experience with stress. We thought that the unfamiliar environment is beginning to digest us. So it only means one thing. Simple. The unfamiliar should be recognized as a usual thing, wherein, just as a part and parcel of the natural process of living. Ironically, people who suffer from burnout or stress, always feel that they are being pushed to their limit. The question is, what’s our limit? Mind boundaries are very common syndrome. More often than not, we mend walls, where we hit ourselves all the time when we put demarcation for our threshold as far as stress is concerned.

God has changed my paradigm. He taught me to view stress in a different perspective. The more we press on things, the more they will annoy us. We are always left with no options but to cry out loud. I look at stress as a spice to life. Or perhaps, consider everything as a fragrance, whereas, you can smell the scent of life. For I look at life as a small yard of hard work, and a vast area of leisure. I remember my father when he was still alive, he kept on telling me his remorse and regrets regarding his retiring from work: he shouldn’t have stopped working, he should have put up a business, should have prepared things for the future; for the last time he saw himself, he was struggling for life. He never got himself to slow down, neither appreciate the things that surround him. All that he knew was to work, and work, and work… and die.

I smell stress like a vinegar. You might be laughing right now alright… but from that smell, follows sumptuous barbeques, steaks, oysters and lobsters. These are my favorites. Not to mention some veggies, for they too are essential to life. Vinegar is really good for seasoning, and, is as similar as stress is good for one of our recipes in life. So I thank the Lord for creating stress, for without stress...life is bland. Well, stress yourself and put a zest to your life. Convert STRESS into ZEST, now.

link me!