Stressed, Anyone?

“If the problem can be solved why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good.”

~ Śāntideva 

Feeling a little stressed out myself this week, I thought this was a great quote to keep in mind. The only time worrying about something is actually helpful is when you can do something about the problem and it makes you move. And if you can do something about it, why stress? Worrying about things that we have no real control over won’t change anything, and so is really pretty pointless.

Of course, if only not stressing out was that easy.

Personally, dealing with stress usually involves a bit more than just reminding oneself that stress is unhealthy and counterproductive. It takes strategy. I like to start by making a list of everything that I actually have to do within a given week. Oftentimes, writing things down lets you see that you really didn’t have as many things to do as you thought. Then I’ll start with all the things that I can get done right away—sending an e-mail, making a phone call, etc—and cross those off the list. You sort of work your way down starting with the quick, easy stuff and ending with the things that either take you more effort or that you expect to be doing for more than just the one week. It’s amazing how quickly that list of things to do can shrink, and the bulk of the stress along with it.

Hopefully.

The rest is all up to attitude.

Filling in the Gaps

“I close my eyes in order to see”

~ Paul Gauguin 

A piece from Mother Natur:
Face of the Sea by Alice Chen

I found this quote written on a magnet being sold in one of the Gallery of Art’s souvenir stores while in Washington DC last week. Seeing as we were in DC for the opening reception of an art exhibit dedicated to artists with disabilities, I thought it was ironically fitting. Both my twin and I like to do art, and people often ask us where the things we draw come from. And the answer is almost always from inside our own heads.

Not, I suppose, that that should come as that
much of a surprise all considered. Where, after all, can a person go to see a real dragon? Or a ship made of bookshelves with a giant scroll for a sail?

It’s kind of interesting how many visual references there are in our language. “See you tomorrow” is one way of saying goodbye. Being “blindsided” can mean that we were taken by surprise. To “watch out” is to be careful, we “look something up” when we want answers—and “I see” means that I understand.

Seeing really isn’t just about using your eyes, and just because we use our eyes doesn’t mean we see. It reminds me of that whole idea of seeing being believing, and yet it’s also true that sometimes, we see things precisely because we believe they’re there. It can serve as the foundations of both prejudice and faith.

Perhaps that’s why sometimes, in order to see things clearly (or at all), we have to sit back, close our eyes, and think about it.

Congratulations, Alice, on being one of the fifteen finalists for the VSA Sustaining/Creating art competition!

The Road to Failure

“People aren't overcome by situations or outside forces; defeat invades from within”

~ Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, page 92 

Maybe not always true but certainly often true, especially depending on how you define defeat. Giving up is certainly one of the fastest ways to fail at something. If we don’t despair, at least there is always a chance because we can always try something else, try to find a different way forward even if it’s not exactly the one we had planned from the start.

It reminds me of when our family watches the figure skating competitions during the Winter Olympics. Mom always comments that she’s so impressed at how, even when the skaters fall, they all get up again and bravely finish what they started—some of them, even with a smile. They might not get the medal, but at least they didn’t waste the experience. That’s the kind of spirit I want to have, to always be able to pick myself up again and keep going with a smile.

Even though persistence does not always lead to success, giving up will always lead to failure.