Nicky and I were having a conversation about stress. And how stress is really resistance to the gap between how you think this moment should be, and how this moment actually is. You may think that this moment should be smooth sailing, but if you have hours and hours of last-minute projects to complete, you may be stressed. Because there is a gap.
Anyway, the whole point is that there really is no gap between how this moment should be and how it is. Think of all the times when you thought that things should be different… and then how things worked out for the better. It’s because things always work out for the better. Even tragedies are lessons, and they shape our lives into new directions.
Knowing this eliminates the need for stress. Of course, a lot of people don’t want to let go of stress. For some people, anxiety is an identity. Some people thrive on it. It’s a personal choice, of course.
It is interesting to observe the cycle of anxiety in our world. The newspaper is a perfect example of the problem/solution spiral in which so many engage. The problem is presented in the pages – terrorism, murders, violence, crimes, pedophiles, etc. The solution is presented in the advertisements: buy things. The message is, if you buy things you’ll feel better. If you buy things, you’ll be happier. The method? Working long hours. Which of course, generates more anxiety. So, as you can see, the cycle continues.
Of course, buying things isn’t the way to deal with anxiety. And working longer hours to accumulate more wealth isn’t going to help the real issue.
I’m a big advocate of the four-day work week. Really, I’d love a three-day work week. There is something beautiful about the weekend outnumbering the work week. I’m going to see if I can have a four-day work week by July. It’s a good goal. After all, two million people die each year from work-related stress issues. That’s two September 11ths every day – and there is no “war on work” as noted by Tom Hutchkinson in How to be Idle.
Anyway, when I opened my Google home page today, this is what I saw:
And for a moment, the world stood still.
November 12, 2007 at 1:30 pm
I completely agree about the four day work week, I’ve always thought it was the ideal week. Now that I’m in college, I work out my schedule so I go to Class Mon-Thurs and then my weekend is Fri-Sun, it is absolutely amazing. I love it.