Certainly I'm not the only one who has read books on stress and tried many
methods to reduce and deal with it. On this lifelong journey, I have learned and also
become more frustrated.
Frustration:
Sometimes frustration comes when I feel I’ve conquered my
stress then something changes causing more stress. It’s also frustrating to know that I, myself,
am the cause of much of my own stress.
Perhaps I’m not alone in these frustrations!?
Things I’ve Learned:
Many things have I learned in this process/journey thus
far. I’m trying to keep this part short
so I’ll just give you two. The first is
that stress is always present in our lives.
The second is that we are each in control of the stress we
encounter.
Dealing with it:
Well, if stress is always present and we are in control
of it, then where is the answer to my question of how to deal with, or reduce, it? That’s next.
Poetry is one way
that I deal with stress.
Little phrases come to me out of the blue sometimes when
I’m working out a problem or feeling stressed.
I try to write down these little tidbits. Because they were born of my stress, I hang on
to them and savor them, whether they’re good or bad.
By doing this, I can see inside my stress which helps me
process the cause of my stress. Writing
these thoughts down helps me peel away the emotional part and work on the
intellectual part of a situation.
Sometimes these little phrases become a story and
sometimes a poem. Regardless, they’re an
expression of the emotion of my stress.
Releasing that allows me more energy for solving or dealing with the
issue that plagues me.
Here is an example of a poem written last fall that
was born of a stressful time:
Thought-Less
Kimberly L McClune
September 29, 2014
Blank and silent
My empty brain lolls and sags
Lacking gumption to fight for thoughts
Disappearing in a foggy haze of forgotten people,
places and
things
Sullen and alone
Nothing enters and nothing leaves
Only a void where intelligence reigned
Distant memories of visions,
thoughts,
dreams and
ideas
Strapped in
Cornered in a lonely room
Scattered cobweb strewn furniture
Dusty pillows and torn drapes decorate the discarded
dwelling
Barren synapses
Spark-less power outage
Brown-out,
black-out,
drained
reserves
Beleaguered and neglected, non-existent cognitive
activity
()()()
While this is a fairly solemn piece of writing, remember that it was born of my stress and was instrumental in helping me put aside the negative emotions so that I could work on solutions.
As unusual as this topic is for a poetry blog, I find that whatever brings me to writing is important in that process. Therefore, I believe it may be important for others as well. I hope you have enjoyed, or at least not turned away from, my blog. Good day and keep writing, no matter why and no matter what.
