Monday's Poem~ Stress

Stress

A definition, friends, of stress:
Your own reaction to a mess
Stresses may be large or small
Sometimes they're not perceived at all
Examples: Say a lack of cash;
A just-avoided freeway crash;
An allergen that's in the air;
The barber says you're losing hair;
Fifty on a spavined horse;
Attorney's letter re divorce;
Wetness, dryness, heat or cold;
Callow youth or getting old
Stress from pains to pleasures range
The common element is change
Adapt or die, and that's a fact
And so our bodies must react:
The heart speeds up, the gutda slows down
Facial muscles snarl or frown
Bronchial tubes expand and then
The blood absorbs more oxygen
Widened pupils search the void
Adrenal glands secrete steroid
Serum glucose starts to climb
More insulin works overtime
Stressed physically or mentally
Muscles tense to fight or flee
The midbrain boils with rage and fear
While cortex plans to save your rear
The point is, stress is not unique
It doesn't mean you're dumb or weak
A part of mankind's constitution
Bequeathed to us by evolution
Common both to man and beast
It proves you're still alive, at least.

By William Goldsmith, MD

Everyone has stress in their lives, it's how we deal with it that counts. I like this poem and it is appropriate for my day today! The one thing I have learned in fifty-two years is not to take on other's stress. We all have different stresses in our lives, and I feel it's how we deal with it, either makes you or breaks you. I have learned to let other's stresses roll off my back like water off a duck.
I hope everyone had a fantastic, stress free day. Where ever this final Monday of April 2012 leads you, make it the best and don't stress, tomorrow the sun will rise and we get a new beginning.