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With you, St. Alban’s clergy will be reading the latest short daily passages from Show Me The Way by Henri J.M. Nouwen, and we will be offering our comments here. You are invited to post your thoughts as well. Please sign your name to any postings you make.

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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Extra, extra, read all about it! Stress can be nudged out the door...


Jane Brody, the wise and wonderful health writer from the New York Times, wrote a column yesterday that is really worth reading. Please do. I've posted a link to it below. She starts her piece, called When Daily Stress Gets in the Way of Life, with this little story on herself:
Anxiety is a fact of life. I've yet to meet anyone, no matter how upbeat, who has escaped anxious moments, days, even weeks. Recently, I succumbed when, rushed for time just before a Thanksgiving trip, I was told the tires on my car were too worn to be driven on safely and had to be replaced.
"But I have no time to do this now," I whined.
"Do you have time for an accident?" my car-savvy neighbor asked.
So, with a pounding heart and no idea how I'd make up the lost time, I went off to get new tires...It seems like such a small thing now. But everyday stresses add up...

She continues in this smart column to coach us into acknowledging our own stresses, major and minor, and into taking small, doable corrective steps that have big impacts. You can tap the link to Jane's Times column at the bottom of this posting.

But first...I want you to see how all this stress-talk is relevant to our Advent aspiration of claiming  some peace in this season as we await the coming of God into our lives in a fresh way in the coming of Christmas.  Henri Nouwen has some coaching for us as well. He notes in his words for today, Day 11, that some features of this hectic season can actually be an antidote to stress and strain. He suggests taking a deep breathe and listening for a moment...just a moment please... to something as wonderful as a short, bit of Advent music. To help you do just that, he piece below is brought to you by the wonders of YouTube.

Please click here and give yourself a 4 minute, wonderfully restorative Advent break. You won't regret the moment of peace, I promise...
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWS7CpFHJ8E 

 And when you have another moment to confront your stress, you can read all of Jane's useful words right there:  http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/10/dont-let-stress-get-in-the-way-of-life/
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2 comments:

  1. AudreyDecember 12, 2012 at 7:25 AM

    Beautiful, Tim, just beautiful. Thank you! That music was a perfect way to start a busy Wednesday!

    Audrey

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  2. Marjorie Manning VaughanDecember 12, 2012 at 7:43 AM

    Thanks Tim!
    I have a very anxiety-producing day ahead of me. The music was great! Something so simple can bring you back to the reality that it's just okay to wait patiently with fervent expectation.

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