Stress

“Mass Shooting in Las Vegas: 58 Dead and over 500 Wounded”

“15-Story Crane Topples Into Manhattan Street”

“Government Threatens Shutdown Unless Conditions Are Met”

“Health Care Battle In Congress Resumes with 2 Opposing Plans”

We are greeting each morning with headlines like these, or more concerning, depending on our differing viewpoints on what we feel is the root cause of each situation.  Long before the Internet claimed the top spot for information dissemination, radio and television lured us to listen or watch, as we were fed the details of the heinous events, either escalating our distress, or easing our concern as we learned  more of what had occurred that day.  An entire generation grew up watching the film clips of what had happened in Vietnam that day, often while eating dinner with the family, slowly becoming desensitized to the atrocities committed in this conflict taking place half-way around the world.  Only when the military returned to the US did the real toll of what had happened there begin to creep into our collective conscious.

How does this affect us?  I’ve noticed a consistent stress level, and an edge to most of us, as we go to work, shop for food, and go about our lives, that quickly activates our ‘fight-or-flight’ mechanism, and we defend or avoid quickly.  That ‘fight-or-flight’ instinct is so deeply ingrained at the core of who we are as humans, due to the fact that at one time, it meant the difference between eating dinner and being dinner, and thus our survival. So ignoring it is really not an option.  What if, though, we chose  NOT to jump on social media, our favorite news app, or turn on the radio or TV?  Would we still stay informed?  Perhaps with less frequent ‘updates’ on what’s going on in the world, we might pay closer attention to smaller, but important things that seem to fade into the background in the face of the World-Altering Events we learn about on our smartphones, and actually notice the little things that used to make us smile, even if only for a brief moment. Children seeing things for the very first time. Birds reappearing each Spring. The painting on the wall you bought how-many-years ago on that impromptu vacation to the beach. Tiny, almost insignificant things that excited you so much at one time, that have become part and parcel of your existence, and you’ve ceased to see them in the same way.

A favorite line from a Zac Brown song goes, ‘Keep your heart above your head, and your eyes wide open…’ and it’s pointed me to that simpler way I used to live, before….  What really gives me pleasure?  Is it the new car or sport coat? Sure, those are nice things, but a beautiful morning where I can have my coffee outside, or a conversation with my family or an old friend stays with me, whereas the newness of ‘things’ wears off pretty quickly.  So, here’s the game-changer:  what makes you excited, giddy, and maybe a little nervous with anticipation, and how can you bring that back into your life?