Stress Management: should nature be our limit?

I work in a high stress low recovery job. It would be amazing if the people around me could help me see the danger signs in myself. Unfortunately their focus is primarily on their own narrow interests, namely, their work and emotional life. This, I am told, is natural.

Should nature be our limit?

There is a twinge of injustice assigned to using science as a justification for selfishness. My spirit is angry with it. Deep down none of us want to be ignored. I think we wallow within ourselves for two reasons, insecurity and power. (There may be more)

Anxiety or if you rather insecurity, the obsession over something out of your immediate power. When all your decisions are ruled by anxiety your situation is negative. True some insecurities are benign, like spiders. In general they only cause mild inconvenience and a small amount of embarrassment. But taken to extremes and other people may not be able to work with this and begin to degrade the sufferer.

As soon as society makes such an assignment it becomes very difficult to ask for relief because no one appreciates that the sufferer is suffering anything serious. In America we are taught to suffer a grate deal and never tell the truth about it unless it involves something physical like rape or murder. After all who really wants to be burdened with my reoccurring thought pains?

The other reason we wallow within ourselves is a belief in our own power. Yes, we are amazing, we do influence some very serious things. But there is a limit to what any one of us can do.

This limit causes two major reactions. One is fear. The other a rashness that disregards consequences. Caution would have us stay within the bounds of conventional wisdom. Unfortunately conventional wisdom can only work in a narrow sort of way. I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm saying it's flawed and can't really describe reality or truth or whatever you call it. As to the rashness that disregards consequence, I'll point to the human record of resource management. Where depletion and pollution figure prominently.

All in all we have very little control over this situation. No one thing will salve it short of converting the entire human race to one comprehensive plan. This does not bode well for as we know this is very unlikely. Yet we keep trying because we think we know this is important.

To keep the stress at bay it is important to remember that though you think having control will solve the problem it actually won't. I know this is sort of difficult because society would have you believe that you can think or control your way out of misery. In my experience this is not entirely true. You stop being miserable the moment you acknowledge you have no control and place that power into some thing else. I've always chosen to give that power to God and that's work well for me. You will make your own choice.

Seeing clearly what you are dealing with dose make a difference. That's why education is sooooo important.