Don't Stress: Digress

Don't let stress rule your life.
Don't let your struggles become your focus.

I say this repeatedly as I sit, in despair, fretting furiously over the anxiety I've formed outside of a needed motivational push. I've spent the better part of today worrying; I'm worried about the event I'm hosting this weekend. I'm worried about money. I'm worried about moving. I find that I spend a large majority of my time worrying about EVERYTHING!

I'm taking a moment right now to step back, and I ask that you do the same. "What is it that causes the stress in your life," your inner karma now asks. "Why do you make things a bigger deal than they really are," says your cat (then again, he's a total pussy). "Why don't you just chill out and poo on the carpet," says your dog Royce (well, my dog Royce: carpet poo is probably a great feeling; a big F.U. to the world).

The things that further us in life are expanded by concentration, not cognitive separation. The definition of our abilities lies in our willingness to get past that which is inevitable; stress.

I think that I've reached a new-found point in my life, likely a partial result of an event that Ashley and I witnessed in IL a few weeks ago. We saw someone (most likely) die on a jet-ski, driving drunk. They crashed into a wall next to the shuttle boat we were on at about midnight. The shuttle boat was taking us home from a bar located in the middle of the lake. 

As a result of this endeavor, we were both quite upset. Can you imagine having a few drinks and an awesome time and then seeing someone die minutes later? We assume he died because, after turning out boat around to look for the body, we found him (the DD; drunk driver) laying on the rocks covered in blood. Sad scene but guess what? Life is full of them.

This witnessing marked a moment; I can't say what that moment is or what it means, but it was a moment nonetheless. LIFE IS FULL OF DISAPPOINTMENT; make the best of every day. LIFE IS FULL OF DREAD; keep those you love near and dear to your heart. LIFE IS STRESS; find joy in the small things, and place trust in the notion that tomorrow can be a better day. LIFE IS RELENTLESS; work hard to accomplish your dreams, and you'll always sleep like a baby (theoretically speaking).

Overall, I'm relieved in knowing that another week will pass and more opportunities for happiness will come. They always have; they always will. I hope that I can relinquish the anxiety I feel for all that I cannot handle, for I am but one person. I hope that you can relieve the deepest fears you have, for our minds and bodies are small (mine's just a little bigger), but our power is large.

Enjoy today, and if you like, call me. I'd love to have a beer with you. Life may be short, but stress only makes it shorter......

                                                                     I WANT TO POO ON YOUR CARPET!!!!!

Drinks and Definition

I had the fantastic opportunity to go out with my hospital administrators for drinks the other night. The event, though short, provided me with insight into their lives along with the history of how they'd come to hold the positions they do. Suffice it to say that they never relinquished their efforts, their schooling, or their pursuit to lead others. I'm not quite sure I'll ever hold an administrative position in such a field, but I'll always try to model my efforts after people like these.

I'm not one to feel that my position is in any way extraordinary, aside from the circumstances that enabled me to land the position and work with the administration. Rather, I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to be seen as an equal; a cohert; a person that can level with those that direct him and still be the same the next day. Grounding myself in this understanding is essential to future performance; at least I'm of that opinion.

Now that I've defined this, it's important that I move forward with the obstacles that lie ahead in my position. For example, grad school, which starts in two weeks. I will be juggling a full-time schedule with a full-time position; both of which demand the fullest extent of my cognitive abilities and my attention. Another obstacle; driving. I'm looking to move to Chicago to shorten my drive both to school and work. I can no longer convince myself that living in Valpo is a feasible thing. Bigger and better things lie ahead.

As I close with my tall thoughts, I think that the future holds the inevitable; happiness, sadness, war, peace, crime, advocacy and a million other things that sway the world to-and-fro. In the midst of swaying, remember to ground yourself in unbiased assumption, in solid value, and in clear thought. For those that stray become set aside in the world that never stops moving.

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend! Don't drink too much and for God's sake, don't drive!!

                                                                                          HARE KRISHNA!