#15 - A++ Article

Title: The Art of Zen in a Stress Filled Society
By: Kartini Knox

Flip through a newspaper nowadays, and headlines of road rage, plane rage, even supermarket and videogame rage will leap out at you. No doubt, all this is due to stress. Modern society, being as fast-paced as it is, is stressful to the extent that nobody over the age of six is immune from it, in one degree or another.

Life is full of many ups, downs and unexpected surprises. Sometimes Fate seems to pull tricks randomly out of its hat to challenge us.

Did you ever have a rushed start to your day, because your alarm clock didn’t go off and you jumped out of bed an hour late? After being forced to skip the shower and forgo breakfast, maybe you got caught in a traffic jam and arrived late at the office, to the less-than-welcoming sight of an irate boss.

Perhaps half of last month’s salary had to go on a major, unexpected car overhaul, or you sacrificed the whole of last weekend working your fingers to the bone, to beat a last minute deadline. Maybe floods had you stranded in traffic for the best part of the morning before you finally got to school, after much anxiety and nail-biting, only to find it was closed!

Life doesn’t always go to plan and it’s no wonder that sometimes it has us ready to hit the roof. So when Fate throws a spanner into the works, how do we deal with the aftermath?

The only way to lead a relatively stress-free life is to remember that we cannot control events that happen around us (or to us). Nor can we control other peoples’ actions (no matter how much we wish for super Jedi mind powers to do this).

Therefore, unexpected, out-of-the-blue bumps in the road will occasionally leave you wanting to pull your hair out. And fellow members of the human race will undoubtedly be a source of minor or major annoyance at times.

While we can’t control outside influences, it’s crucial to remember that we can control how we choose to react to these daily trials and tribulations.

Take the traffic, for example. Some of us will curse, engage in rude hand gymnastics and glaring contests, or call our fellow drivers every creative name in the book whenever they pull out in front of us unexpectedly, fail to signal, or remain stalled at the traffic lights, picking their noses, when the lights flash green. Meanwhile, the more Zen-like members of our society may choose to take a deep breath and count to ten, rather than speed up, risk an accident and jeopardise their blood pressure.

How many times, after having futilely circled the Mall parking lot and finding not a single vacant spot, have you felt tempted to launch into an expletive laden tirade and start banging on your steering wheel, cursing the car in front of you that always seems to get the recently vacated spot? After having finished your mad rant and frightening the kids in the backseat out of their wits, you may regret it and think twice about repeating the performance next time. The process of calming oneself down after having engaged in such a heart-pumping display of fury, is easier said than done! And it can ruin a precious weekend with the family.

Life can be like a bad joke when you’ve forked out two dollars for parking, only to waste half an hour in a car park that is already full to the brim. Or when you discover the ATM machine is out of cash on Bonus Day, after half an hour of queuing up.

Perhaps it’s occasions like these, when, short of turning green and splitting your pants, you can no longer prevent yourself from turning into a stark, raving lunatic in public. (Much less care who witnesses your display of fury).

But does getting caught in tricky situations give us an excuse to behave badly when things don’t go our way?

If raging and moaning is how we choose to deal with everyday hassles and inconveniences, how can one expect to get through life without paying a bigger price?

No, I’m not talking about your sanity, (although some may have paid for their stress with theirs) - but health. Cancer, insomnia, ulcers and everything from headaches to heart disease have been found to be caused by stress.

Be forewarned then, that habitual yelling, banging, and blaming other people for your miseries, could eventually get the better of you!

Instead of grumbling to your friends about how much you detest your job, try making some inner changes to help you better deal with your job stress.

Instead of cursing your car because it costs you five hundred dollars a month in loan repayments, it’s better to start being grateful that you have a car to get around with in the first place.

Instead of dwelling on that infuriatingly, annoying, pesky office-mate (who even a mere glimpse of, can shoot up your personal thermostat) why not turn your mind to other, more positive subjects?

As corny as it sounds, by plastering a smile on your face the next time you find yourself turning a deeper shade of purple, can work wonders on your rage. Experts suggest that pretending to be calm and happy is the key to achieving calmness and happiness. In other words, fake it to make it.

Apart from an attitude change, listening to calming music and yoga are also said to be effective stress-busters. The sea air, a cup of hot Milo, and a rib tickling comedy or a short walk, work like charms too.

Many of us in today’s world live day-to-day, in a constant angry and stressed out state of mind, ready to pick fights at the drop of a hat. Some peoples’ fuses are so short you can almost see the steam rising from their heads, whenever the smallest things go wrong. If you are one of those people, taking the above-mentioned, simple tips on board may be the key to a happier, more peaceful existence.

The next time your blood begins to boil and you feel the urge to unload your fury and frustration onto innocent, unsuspecting bystanders – take a deep breath and count to ten.

Remember to be aware that there are more sociable ways to overcome teeth-gritting situations than lashing out. Ask yourself, is your cup always half empty or half full? Looking on the bright side of things could save your health as well as your sanity!

Master your emotions rather than let your emotions rule you, and you’ll be rewarded with an improvement in overall mood and well-being, say the experts.

You needn’t end up popping pills for stress-related problems later in life (unless this is what you want). Just learn how to deal with it!