Tag: Stress

Bah Humbug! A Christmas post… with a twist.

I paint rocks… among other art ventures.  Over the years I have painted hundreds of rocks with “Smiley Faces” and given them to friends and business associates.

One of the rocks was given to a friend, Jeff, to display on his counter at Shoreline Center for Healing.  The idea  was to create a friendly atmosphere of  positive vibes.  What better message for a Healing Center?

Jeff was telling me he has a friend that jokes about having a bad day and hitting someone with the smiley rock to take out his frustrations.  The idea of getting hit with a smiley rock conjured up all kinds of images… mostly conflicting.  The cartoon portrays the mixture of emotions we all experience during the Holiday Season.

I think we have all had the symbolic feeling of being hit with a smiley rock during the Holidays.  The everyday stresses of many emotions can highlight the conflict we all have at one time or another.  “It’s supposed to be a happy time… why am I so stressed out?” 

Maybe I should start painting smiley faces on foam.  It could serve as a great Holiday stress reliever when you throw it at someone.  What do you think?  Trade in your “Pet Rock” (remember them?) for a “Pet Foam Smiley Rock”…and get rid of your stress at the same time!  Try it out by throwing it at your Legislator… Come to think of it,  I’ve got a better idea…use the Smiley Rock.

 

STRESS MANAGEMENT-101

Stress is the one thing all humans have to deal with.  There’s a lot of money being spent on stress management techniques when, in reality, we were born knowing what to do.

I drew this cartoon back in the 60’s when I was enrolled in a Psychology class in college.  It pretty much says it all.  We don’t need to spend a lot of money on seminars, tapes, videos and the like.  All we need is to find our thumb to suck and drag out the time-tested security blankie…

WHOA!! I can hear it now… What about the germs and bacteria?  Shouldn’t your thumb and blankie be sterilized before use?  What if you sneezed into it when you were two… are the germs still there?  And, mold?  What about that?  How do you know the blankie wasn’t made by a Third World manufacturer that used lead in the dye?  Oh boy!  I’m getting all stressed out just thinking about it!

See what’s happened to us?  We worry too much about things that MIGHT HAPPEN.  What’s the saying?… “Paralysis by Analysis?”  The next thing will be stressing over who to sue because we’re stressed out about being stressed out!

Let me make a suggestion…  We need to find ways to reduce our stress by sharing the load in ways that benefit us all.  For example, when I had decided to produce my first book, a coloring book: “UP NORTH WITH TC BEAR“, I got all stressed-out trying to wade through the maze of information about self-publishing.  The more I got involved, the more I realized I didn’t know.  Fortunately for me, I happened to be illustrating another book: “ADVENTURES OF MR. BILL”, for BILL PARRISH.  Bill was struggling with the same issues but he is smarter than me and sought help.  Long story short… He was referred to an expert in self-publishing, MARY JO ZAZUETA, who proved to be a Godsend… the best form of stress relief.

We are surrounded by talented people who can reduce our stress by helping us achieve our dreams.  Mentors and consultants are stress relievers… we don’t have to know it all!  If we network and find the expert or person that already knows the answer, we all gain.  Look around you. Reach out and let someone help you!

NOTE: If you have an interest in the process of writing and publishing a book, you’re in luck!  The MICHIGAN WRITERS Organization is sponsoring a class at the University Center (Boardman Campus) at Northwestern Michigan College on February 24th, 2011.  Mary Jo’s Class should help you understand what is needed to write and produce your own book.  If you decide to sign-up, tell her you heard about it here.  I’d like to know if anyone is reading this! THANKS!!… Help is on it’s way.