For the past few days I’ve felt overwhelmed by the responsibilities imposed on me by life in general (bills, balancing checkbook, grocery shopping, household and job duties) and those I impose on myself (writing goals, practicing my bass, reading, and playing piano, as well as some volunteer work for other things). You can call it stress. We’ve all experienced it. I’d be willing to bet anybody reading this post is under some degree of stress in their lives right now.

We think of stress as bad. It causes anxiety, sleep deprivation and heart attacks, among other things. But what would our lives be without it, really? Can’t stress also motivate us – to get work done, to be creative, and to meet responsibilities?

The thing is, I often feel overwhelmed. Sometimes it feels like sheer terror. And if that isn’t bad enough, I can get stressed out about being stressed out. Oh, no! Now I’m really sunk!

The opposite of stressed out is relaxed, right? We all need time to let off some steam. Last night I went to hear a band, danced half the night and had a blast. I also had a band rehearsal in the afternoon. Rehearsal can be work, for sure, but it’s also fun. I never dread it. It requires my concentration, and while I’m focused on what I’m playing and how it fits in with what everybody else is playing, I have no space in my brain to worry about bills, laundry, or my day job.

Today I went to church and my husband and I took a walk after lunch while the wind blew and the snow fell. Both activities were a way for me to unwind. As much as I’m driven to write, I need to walk away from it (often literally) and just enjoy the world around me.

I don’t think it’s possible or even desirable to completely eliminate stress from our lives. I think what matters is what we do with it.

What do I do about it? What I can. I set about meeting my writing goal, and then I set that aside if I have a lot of other things that need to be tackled. If certain circumstances seem to be completely out of my ability to control or change, I try to let go of it by praying and focusing on the things I can do something about. So I meet my writing goals, my musical goals, I balance my checkbook, clean the house, go for a walk, call a friend, read a little and consider it all time well spent. I try to be grateful for this day where I have the time to devote to the things that are important to me, or necessary to my well-being and that of those around me. And I do my best to go to bed on time.

That’s how I handle stress. I also accept the fact that most days, life doesn’t go perfectly smoothly. There always seems to be at least one little thing that trips me up – my computer acts up, or there’s a car accident that slows my commute, or somebody at work is unhappy about something, or one of my kids calls me with a problem (usually involves needing money).

The other thing is not to focus too much on what’s going wrong. If I’m worried about money I tell myself, today I have a house to live in, clothes on my back and food to eat. Worrying doesn’t change a thing; it just makes me feel overwhelmed. I do my best to focus on what’s going right.

As a creative person the one thing I can do with stress, is to keep writing, keep playing music, and enjoy it. When I’m involved in the creative process, my cares fall away. Even if it’s temporary, it’s a much needed break. It’s also a way of reinforcing what’s important in my life. Then I can shrug off the feeling of being overwhelmed. There’s way too much of life to live and appreciate.