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Is Your Cup Half Full or Half Empty?

© Julie J. Murelle

I must confess that for someone who writes a column on how to get rid of stress, I have a lot of it. This week I was downsized from my job, a job I really needed. On the same day I received this news, my daughter freaked out when I tried to go to my job. For a parent, this is a horrifying, gut wrenching thing. She ran out of the baby sitters house as I began to pull away in my car. She was screaming my name and crying hysterically. I leaped out of the car and calmed her down and told her of the dangers of doing this. Still, as I was leaving for the second time, I saw her in the front window, with tears streaming down her face. Even though I could not hear her, I knew that she was calling my name.

When my workday was done, I picked my children up from the sitter and went home. My mind was numb and hopeless. I have worked really hard in the two years that my husband and I have been separated. I had a baby, lost my dog, lost my mother and have had to try to secure employment. Upon arriving home, there was a note on the door telling me that UPS had left a package in the bushes on the left side of my home. It was a humongous box. I dragged it in the house, opened it and there inside was the punching bag I had ordered a week ago. Never has there been a more perfectly timed arrival.

Once I got the water filled base set up, I put on the boxing gloves and I gave it a punch. That felt great so I gave it another. My momentum grew and as I thought about my day I punched, socked and kicked. It was wonderful. With each slam into the punching bag, I felt my stresses and worries become released.

When I was finished, everything hurt but my stresses had been released into the fury of the punching bag. And I was able to think.

The reason why this is so important is that when you are so consumed with your troubles, it is hard to think straight and if you can't think straight, you can not organize what you need to do to help solve your problems.

With a clear head and an aching body, I found renewed hope. I was able to begin to clean my house and organize what I would do next to take care of my children and myself.

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