<p>A man is harried by a monkey on his back. The monkey bothers him relentlessly and the man uses a stick desperately trying to swat the monkey away, but the monkey inevitably returns. </p><p>A wise man who had been observing the man and monkey goes closer to the man and whispers; “ Relax, just let go of the stick.”</p>.<p>The man let go of the stick , took some deep breaths and after some time the monkey walked away, seemingly bored. There is never a dull moment in life and anxiety often creeps in, filling those moments with unease and doubt. It’s as if a dark storm of thoughts and worries gathers in the mind, threatening to overwhelm everything in its path. We try to combat this storm by whatever we find at our disposal, often aggravating the situation rather than resolving it. Storms come and go and that is also true for anxiety and troubles, if we allow ourselves the grace to weather them with time and patience.</p>.<p>When we give ourselves quiet moments to breathe, to relax, the storm begins to wane, the once-furious sky softens, the tempestuous clouds begin to thin, the rain slackens to a gentle drizzle and the storm passes leaving behind a hushed serenity.</p>.No act of kindness is small.<p class="bodytext">Instead of a knee jerk reaction every time anxious thoughts cloud our mind, we could start by gently acknowledging the presence of trouble without judgment, without the need for reciprocation and without undue fear. When we pause to really consider what is troubling us, we create the space for us to respond, to let it pass. The key is to step back from the intensity of the moment and remember that thoughts and events are not permanent —they are simply thoughts and events often fleeting and unreliable. They do not need a stick to be driven away, just some moments of calm. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The world we live in often pushes the need for instant gratification but the truth remains that we are all human, vulnerable to stress and uncertainty that is immune to quick resolutions. So instead of trying to strangle the troubles we face, if we try to gently touch them, acknowledging their fleeting presence we will find that calm was always there, waiting for us to put that stick away. </p>
<p>A man is harried by a monkey on his back. The monkey bothers him relentlessly and the man uses a stick desperately trying to swat the monkey away, but the monkey inevitably returns. </p><p>A wise man who had been observing the man and monkey goes closer to the man and whispers; “ Relax, just let go of the stick.”</p>.<p>The man let go of the stick , took some deep breaths and after some time the monkey walked away, seemingly bored. There is never a dull moment in life and anxiety often creeps in, filling those moments with unease and doubt. It’s as if a dark storm of thoughts and worries gathers in the mind, threatening to overwhelm everything in its path. We try to combat this storm by whatever we find at our disposal, often aggravating the situation rather than resolving it. Storms come and go and that is also true for anxiety and troubles, if we allow ourselves the grace to weather them with time and patience.</p>.<p>When we give ourselves quiet moments to breathe, to relax, the storm begins to wane, the once-furious sky softens, the tempestuous clouds begin to thin, the rain slackens to a gentle drizzle and the storm passes leaving behind a hushed serenity.</p>.No act of kindness is small.<p class="bodytext">Instead of a knee jerk reaction every time anxious thoughts cloud our mind, we could start by gently acknowledging the presence of trouble without judgment, without the need for reciprocation and without undue fear. When we pause to really consider what is troubling us, we create the space for us to respond, to let it pass. The key is to step back from the intensity of the moment and remember that thoughts and events are not permanent —they are simply thoughts and events often fleeting and unreliable. They do not need a stick to be driven away, just some moments of calm. </p>.<p class="bodytext">The world we live in often pushes the need for instant gratification but the truth remains that we are all human, vulnerable to stress and uncertainty that is immune to quick resolutions. So instead of trying to strangle the troubles we face, if we try to gently touch them, acknowledging their fleeting presence we will find that calm was always there, waiting for us to put that stick away. </p>
