Tuesday, February 19, 2008

A few words about stress...

I was reading a website today and came across this "article." Since I am the queen of stressing out and a major control-freak, it hit home a little. Thought I would share...

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, 'How heavy is this glass of water?' Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.
The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter It depends on how long you try to hold it.

  • 'If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.
  • If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.
  • If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.

'In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes. '
He continued, 'And that's the way it is with stress management.
If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. '
'As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden. '
'So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. ' 'Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!
And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:


* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.

* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

* Never buy a car you can't push.

* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

* The second mouse gets the cheese.

* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

* To the world you might be one person, but to one person you just might be the world.

* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once

* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull, Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

It just takes 4 minutes...

...of your time today to watch this video and you'll be helping fund research into the causes of and effective treatments for autism: http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/408214

The band, Five for Fighting, will donate $0.40 to Autism Speaks each time the video is viewed. It's legit...check it out on snopes.com, but please watch the video and make a difference--every little bit helps.

Into stamping or scrapbooking and want another option? Check out the special set of puzzle-piece stamps from Gina K designs...$8.00 from every set goes to fund research with Autism Speaks (there are other causes she supports with other sets as well). You can find them here: http://shop.ginakdesigns.com/product.sc?categoryId=12&productId=51

I encourage you to please pass this along to others. Early diagnosis and treatment can be crucial to these children. William is on the higher-functioning end of the spectrum so wasn't even diagnosed until he was 5 1/2, and didn't begin receiving therapies until the middle of 1st grade. This is way too late for most of these kids!! Thanks for helping out!