Thankful Thursdays

Let’s talk about the dirty S word.
Nope, not that one. This one: stress.

Not too long ago, I wrote about spring cleaning the clutter in our minds. And here I am again, because apparently, I’m still finding dusty corners I missed. Letting go isn’t a one-time thing. Especially when it comes to stress. So I’m going to share an analogy I read recently, to spark some thought.

A professor walked around the room holding a glass of water and asked: “How heavy do you think this glass is?”
People threw out all kinds of guesses. Some said light, some said heavy, but he just shook his head and said:
“The absolute weight of the glass doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold onto it. If I hold it for a minute, nothing happens. If I hold it for an hour, my arm will begin to ache. If I hold it all day long, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. While the weight of the glass hasn’t changed, the longer I hold onto it the heavier it becomes.

“The stresses and the worries of life are like this glass of water. If you think about them for a little while, there’s no problem. You think about it for a little bit longer … it begins to hurt. You think about them all day long and you’ll feel paralyzed, incapable of doing anything.”

We all feel stress. That’s just life. But this is a good reminder that we don’t have to carry it all, all the time. Sometimes the smartest, kindest thing we can do is just… put the glass down.

And honestly, while you’re holding all that stress, your poor heart is over there drumming and playing a solo no one asked for. At least that’s what mine does. No bueno.

So here’s our little challenge today: let go of what we don’t need to hold anymore. And let’s give ourselves permission to laugh at the mess along the way.

And above all, be thankful. Thankful for the grace to set things down, and for the quiet strength (and steady heartbeat 💓) that shows up when we finally put that glass down.

What are you thankful for today?

Until next Thursday’s post…si Dios quiere.

“You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway.”
-S. Maraboli

“Stress is the trash of modern life–we all generate it, but if you don’t dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life.”
-D. Pace