Stress is a part of all our lives. It surrounds us and, at times, overwhelms us. Lately, I have had a good chance to examine the reality of stress as I have walked away from a huge part of it.
When I began my retirement on July 1st, I really wasn’t prepared for what would happen. My whole life has been wrapped up in schedules, demands, deadlines, and a host of other things that brought stress upon stress. At times, some of my doctors in the past few years suggested that I seek retirement so that my health might improve. I heard them but didn’t really buy it.
But the past couple of months? Even with a record derecho tearing up the community and putting us without power for several days, the stress in my life has lessened so radically that I am, dare I say it, happy more often than not.
The past couple of cruises that I went on also indicated the stress I was living under. Even when it took a few days to “get into” the cruise, by the midpoint, stress would start building up again thinking about all the things waiting for me at the parish. Some of those things didn’t even wait as I took care of business via email or wi-fi phone calls.
Now, it is much different. I have fewer worries and the ones that I have are not overpowering. I think I can get used to this. 🙂