Stress and the busy life

Part 49 in a series by Karen A. Stevenson, President, Studio K Salon

As the owner of a small business in the Hope Valley area, I have the opportunity to talk intimately with many people on a daily basis.  An increasing dialogue between others and myself is the intensity of hurried responsibilities, stress, anxiety, frustration, and overall dissatisfaction with the quality of life. 

What is the bottom line of these types of pressures?  What causes us as the ‘blessed American’s’ with the “American dream” to feel this disappointment?

Nothing opened my eyes like a trip to Europe last year, when I had the opportunity to settle my soul, take in the beauty of nature, and hear the soft gentle breeze of the trees. Life was so simple over there.   Seems that our hustle and bustle of multi tasking two-income-family ‘get ahead’ life has taken an ugly turn.

Back here at home,  I travel each day on both Highway 540 and 40, commuting to work as many of us do.  It is common that most people are on their cell phones, eating their fast food lunch or dinner, as they aggressively shift from lane to lane in an attempt to navigate through heavy traffic. 

Apparently there are planes to catch, people to see, deadlines to meet, and expectations to fulfill.   In between their Pepto Bismol and their Pepcid AC, they are either taking Zoloft or Wellbutrin to calm their unsettled spirits, and mask over the lack of down time, and peace within themselves.  I too can fall into this category, as life shoves us down the river, and we willingly flow with the stream. 

In these observations, there are more demands placed on customer service, and satisfaction, yet we tend to forget, that the very people placed in the customer service positions too are rushing, pressured and frustrated.  They equally are in the situation of multi tasking their own life’s responsibilities and significant relationships such as children, spouse and friends.  They too are at their wits end with pressures, and disappointments.  Seems we stand in one place, and spin in a circle, pointing our finger outward and blaming each person we lay eyes on.  It is ‘their fault’ we are late, pressured, dissatisfied, angry, frustrated, and short fused.  Americans can admit, we are harsh on customer service related people.  We’ve lost our compassion for each other in many ways.

Maybe instead of pointing outwardly, we should look inward and wonder where is our own responsibility in creating such a poor lifestyle that we are virtually kissing our life goodbye without even seeing what really and truly matters.  Demands, especially those placed on the service oriented businesses are taking the brunt of these unmet needs of getting back in touch with our true priorities.  No, the priorities are not our next stock sale, nor should our priorities be how fast we can devour lunch while speaking on our cellular devices.  Our priority should be getting back in touch with our own peace of heart, mind and soul.  Taking a moment to breathe, and calm our hyper-lifestyle down to regain our composure. 

I was recently able to take a break from the hassles of running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off, due to foot surgery. It offered me the ability to sit still.  I had to walk slowly into the yard to let my puppy out, and actually felt the sunshine on my hair.  Not able to stand, I had the blessing of sitting on the green plush grass as I watched ‘Bo’ discover the simpler things like a caterpillar making great strides to nowhere.  At no charge, I heard the trickling of our own deck fountain.  I often pay money for that sound, as I wait in a lobby for a deep tissue massage to help reduce my usual tight shoulders and neck due to my own self induced stress.   Birds were fluttering in their freedom.  In the silence, I was able to reconnect with peace, harmony with myself.  It settled my soul. 

Could it be that simple?  Is it that we’ve had this avalanche affect in our lives of the small snowflake starting at the top of the beautiful and magnificent mountain, and as it increasingly grew, it became a dangerous and life threatening event that cannot be stopped?  Is it that as we become adults we stop listening to the simpler sounds, rush past the beauty of stillness, aggressively attack all that stand in our way as we speed to our next item on our daytimer? 

It is our own responsibility to take a hold of our once-upon-a-time simpler life, and rewind it to replay it differently.  We can in fact ‘stop to smell the daisies’ if we wanted.  It is our own choice, whether or not we accept the task or kiss our lives goodbye.  I think it’s time we all stepped up to the plate and made a difference for our own health sake.

It certainly is not every one else’s’ fault that we’ve chosen this lifestyle.  It is our own.  We can claw, dig, and arm-wrestle all we want; yet we still have to eventually accept, we are responsible for our own behavior.