Ideas to Reduce Stress

Ideas to Reduce Stress

Are you as stressed as I am with the bombardment of horrible, disgusting and gut wrenching “headlines”? This stuff is worse than the most horrifying story I’ve ever read. A war of choice that may last years; threatened murders of possibly millions of civilians with the annihilation of their entire country; committing war crimes without consequences; detention of our law abiding residents; decimating our healthcare system; cutting social service programs; slashing entitlements; promoting wealth imbalance with tax cuts for the rich; spending more money on military and paramilitary programs to “control” citizens; and working to prevent future elections. And that’s not the complete list.

I’ll keep RESISTING, but I’m going to concentrate on a couple of other things too. Things I understand will help reduce stress: gardening and volunteering. Here’s what I learned.

Gardening will help both my mind and body. Any kind of gardening. Get my hands dirty. Smell the earth and plants. Inhale the fresh air. Get healthy doses of sunshine. Move and bend and swing my arms. Watch the butterflies and clouds and trees and think how oblivious they are to current events. Embrace that feeling and forget about the world’s woes for a few minutes. Maybe it’ll drop my blood pressure.

Volunteering will give me a sense of “doing something tangible for a greater good”. I’ll meet other energetic people whose zest I will find contagious. I’ll leave the effort tired but happier and maybe content, if even for a short while. There are many worthwhile non-profit groups that need volunteers. Just ask around.

The Neighbor-to-Neighbor Program in Port Orford is one such group. They need volunteers to help prepare and serve our free Community Dinners. These are every Monday night from 5 to 6:30 PM at 1536 Jackson St. All are welcome….diners and new volunteers.

Reduce Your Stress so you can continue to RESIST!

Janet Jeffery, Gold Beach