This is some really good advice my daughter gave to me and I thought it would be worth passing it along. Maybe some have heard it before but it never hurts to hear it again.

There is so much stress in the world today in all of our lives. This gives us something to think about.

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, 'How heavy is this glass of water?' Answers called out ranged from 8oz. To 20oz.

The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.'

'If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.

If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.' 'In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.'

He continued, 'And that's the way it is with stress management.

If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on.'

'As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.

When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.'

'So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work/life down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.'

Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.

Relax; pick them up later after you've rested.

Life is short.. Enjoy! And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

1 - Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

2 - Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

(that is one of my favorite sayings also I like "The least you say, the least you have to be sorry for)

3 - Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

4 - Drive carefully. It's not only cars that canbe recalled by their Maker.

5 - If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

6 - If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably

worth it.

7 - It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

8 - Never buy a car you can't push.

9 - Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on..

10 - Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

11 - Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

12 - The second mouse gets the cheese.

13 - When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

14 - Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

15 - You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

16 - Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

17 - We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some

are dull.. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

18 - A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

* * *

I find working with glass meditative, almost therapeutic. I can leave the world behind, and focus... The simplicity of form, the drama of rich, intense colour, the joy of challenge, and the challenge of endurance... The piece, when it is over, is not what is made, but how it is made. - Andrew Kuntz