Stress in our lives is a major issue. Everybody is stressed, people going to work are stressed, people staying home are stressed, children are stressed, teachers are stressed and grandparents are stressed. It is going on in spite of knowing the fact that stress gives rise to number of physical, mental, societal and environmental problems around us.
One reaches airport to catch a flight and is not allowed to board the flight because he is late – he is stressed now – grinds his teeth as if the flight has purposefully left him. One goes to a chemist’s shop and comes to know that one of the medicine is not in his stock – the stress takes over – why the doctor prescribed a medicine which is not in stock. One reaches office and sees his boss – the stress builds up – he is going to load me or over load me with work.
It may be anything that can induce stress? Yes! Whenever we want something to happen in a particular way and it does not happen that way, the stress is induced. Missing the flight, not finding the medicine or seeing the boss are all instances which one did not want to happen but have happened, give stress.
May be the flight has taken 300 passengers, they are not stressed – they were not late; may be the chemist has given medicine to another 100 patients – they are not stressed; maybe there are 500 people in the office – everybody is not stressed by the boss. Therefore the boss is not a stress inducer, may be he is a happy go lucky person but our mind has perceived him as an unkind/unjust person. When the boss gives work, I say ‘yes’ but my mind or ‘angry mind’ says ‘no’. So there is a conflict in my mind that causes stress. All the instances causing stress are our own making because of our angry mind not ready to accept the reality. We have externalised the sources of stress while the real source of stress is our own angry mind with in us. To get rid of stress is therefore simple – we need to train and retrain our angry mind habitual of not accepting reality to a mind with patience and ready to accept reality. It opens opportunities for moving ahead without stress.
On missing the flight, one should stay calm – have patience and look for ‘what next’. Shall I take next flight or shall I abandon the travel plan or shall I contact the people I was going to meet and so on. On seeing the boss, I should stay calm – listen to him with a mind with patience to say yes and accept the work assigned by him. May be at times, if essential under given circumstances say no as well. So with our actions and reactions, we can avoid stress from our lives.
How to transform our angry mind to a mind with patience? Training and retraining through meditation, meditation and meditation is the way. So practice it seriously. I believe, readers know how to meditate or can find out. Wishing you a stress free life..