We have the habit of carrying worries and burden on our minds at all times. We have plenty of worries in life... the milkman coming in late, transport strike, the neighbour’s dog spoiling the doormat, the boss who does not smile, the “no fat” milk which is not available anymore, our kid who is not holding the first position in the class/college/university, increasing weight, decreasing weight, falling hair, new hair color etc. We have multiple worries and we keep increasing them day by day. We enjoy carrying our burden. We take delight in listing out each and every worry on our endless list to ourselves and to those who care to listen or those we can force to listen to us.
Worrying never solved any problem because worrying is not constructive. It drains us of our vital energy and makes us depressed. It enrages us and makes us feel violent. It causes feelings of impotence and loss of confidence in self. We lose our hope, faith, cheer and optimism. We lose our smiles and our sad face discourages others from being with us. We end up being lonely and fed-up of life and fed-up with ourselves. Our own behaviour brings about a negative impact on our family life and relationships at home, with friends and at work. And the saddest part is – most of our worries do not materialise and yet we go on worrying and spoiling our lives.
When we travel by train or plane or car, we do not carry our luggage in our hands or on our heads. We put down the baggage as we know the train carries us and the baggage. When we see someone carrying his luggage in his hand while travelling in a train or a plane, we wonder if he is stupid. But we do not realise that we do the same thing. We carry the luggage of our worries in our heads even when we go to bed and wake up tired and weary and unable to face another day. When we repose our faith in God and unburden our worries at night at His Feet and sleep - we wake up refreshed and in a position to resolve many of our problems and worries successfully. Here is a little practical lesson on why not to carry worries:
A Professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see & asked the students: How much do you think this glass weighs? Various answers came in : 50g, 100g, 125g etc. The Professor said that he also did not know the exact weight and would have to confirm it by actually weighing the glass of water. The actual purpose of exhibiting the glass of water was to ask what would happen if he held it in his hand. The students replied that nothing much would happen. And what if I hold this glass for an hour? : asked the Professor. One of the students said his arm would begin to ache. And what would be the consequence if he held that glass the same way the whole day? The students replied that his arm would go numb and he would have severe muscle stress and paralysis. He would even need to go to the hospital for treatment.
Now the professor asked a very important question: Did the weight of the glass change during the time the glass was held? No – it did not. Then what caused the muscles stress and arm ache? The students could not answer. The Professor asked again: What should I do to come out the pain? The students shouted: Put the glass down!
That is how we should deal with the problems in life. If we hold on to them for a short time in our head, nothing happens and they seem okay. When we think of them for a longer period of time, our head begins to ache. When we hold on to them for a much longer period of time, they paralyze us and we will not be able to do anything about it. We develop blood pressure, migraine, heart pain and heart attacks, acidity, muscular pain and a host of other sicknesses. We lose pleasure of life and are unable to live or sleep or eat with enjoyment.
It is very important to think about problems and face them. It is even more important to put them aside in your head and go to sleep with trust and faith in God. This way we wake up fresh and strong to face another day and solve our problems. Please remember to ‘PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY’!
