Timeless Beauty

Image by alancleaver_2000 via Flickr Life is full of stress. We have all experienced how life's stressors can hurt our health and our relationships. When we lessen the stress in our lives, we also lessen the problems that plague us. Here are a few tips on learning to beat the stress down and living life with pleasure along with pain. 1. Take pleasure in small things. Little things like seeing flowers bloom in spring are precious. Moments spent with family and friends can not be bought from stores. Do it the way spring plungers, people who plunge into the birth and bloom of the Spring season, do it. Take time to smell the flowers on your way to work, to look up at the sky on a clear night and appreciate the beauty of the stars, or to smile at the person sitting beside you on the bus. 2. Be thankful. Even when you think the worst has happened to you, there is surely something, however little it may be, to be thankful for. Focus on the positive things in your life. Make an ...

Image by Diogo Drigo via Flickr Thoughts of leaving my nine-to-five job to work as a freelancer have been dancing in my mind. Lately, I have been experiencing this trapped feeling whenever I think of work. There's a strong urge to just drop everything, buy an RV and get my RV insurance , and drive away, leaving behind a stressful life in the city. These thoughts and feelings are not there without a reason, I know. They are probably symptoms of an oncoming bout with burnout . Burnout is defined by HelpGuide.org as a "state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress ." It can happen when a person feels so overwhelmed with the constant demands of work. There are general feelings of frustration and desperation, which cause a high level of stress. As the stress continues to bombard the person's day-today-life, he or she begins to lose the interest or motivation to work, or to even take responsibility for one's work. B...