SENIOR MOMENTS: #102 Coping With Stress
“In this world without quiet corners, there can be no easy escapes...from hullabaloo, from terrible, unquiet fuss.” -- Salman Rushdie
This issue of Senior Moments will be coming to you on the first day of a short vacation for my wife and I. It has been a long year or two and we need to visit daughters, granddaughters, brothers and sisters. It is time for a renewal of sorts.
As a society we don’t seem to be too good at coping with stress. Drug abuse, alcoholism, mass shootings, and suicide rates all indicate a systemic problem that is out of control. So, I’ve returned to a book that I’ve quoted from before called Simple Abundance, A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
She offers the following suggestions for coping with stress. Perhaps they will encourage you to seek inner peace in some way. More of us will be able to enjoy our senior moments if we learn to cope early and often.
“Cultivate gratitude.”
“Carve out an hour a day for solitude”
“Begin and end each day with prayer, meditation, reflection.”
“Keep it simple.”
“Keep your house picked up.”
“Don’t overschedule.”
“Strive for realistic deadlines.”
“Never Make a promise you can’t keep”
“Allow an extra half hour for everything you do.”
“Create quiet surroundings at home and at work.”
“Go to bed at nine o’clock twice a week.”
“Always carry something interesting to read.”
“Breathe--deeply and often.”
“Move--walk, dance, run, find a sport you enjoy,”
“Drink pure spring water. Lot’s of it.”
“Eat only when you are hungry.”
“If it’s not delicious, don’t eat it.”
“BE instead of DO.”
“Set aside one day a week for rest and renewal.”
“Laugh more often.”
“Luxuriate in your senses.”
“Always opt for comfort.”
“If you don’t love it, live without it.”
“Let Mother Nature nurture.”
“Don’t answer the phone during dinner.”
“Stop trying to please everybody.”
“Start pleasing yourself.”
“Stay away from negative people.”
“Don’t squander precious resources: time, creative energy, emotion.”
“Nurture friendships.”
“Don’t be afraid of your passion.”
“Approach problems as challenges.”
“Honor your aspirations.”
“Set achievable goals.”
“Surrender expectations.”
“Savor beauty.”
“Create boundaries.”
“For every ‘yes,’ let there be a ‘no.’”
“Don’t worry, be happy”
“Remember, happiness is a living emotion.”
“Exchange security for serenity.”
“Care for your soul.”
“Cherish your dreams.”
“Express love every day.”
“Search for your authentic self until you find her [or him].”
Until next time,
KEN
