How long can you hold 300 grams of water for?
And why it matters.
Let’s say you’re holding a very small glass filled with water. But, instead of drinking it, you continue to hold it on your hands. And you keep holding for an hour, two, three, five…
The question is how long can you can continue it for.
Pretty soon, undeniably, your hands will begin to hurt. At one point or the other, a moment will come when you can no longer hold it, no matter how determined, how strong, or how tough you are. Inevitably, you will have to put it down.
Your physiology will take over your determination and strength.
Strange that as humans we have landed in the moon and returned safely, but we can’t hold a light glass of water for more than a few hours at most!
We all know the cause. The pressure of the load compounds gradually, until your arms just can’t take it anymore.
So it is with so many small things in our life that hurt us, that upset us, that annoy us, that anger us, that disturbs us... They are tiny considering their impact once, but when they occur repeatedly, their toll begins to compound significantly.
And we deserve a break — our lives are too fragile!
Issues of unhappiness around family relationships, intimate relationship, work, and finance may not appear to have an effect immediately, so we tend to just brush them off. But over time, the damage can be significant.
So, if you realise something is bothering you often, it must be said, you must admit it and you must find a way to cure it actively, deliberately. What you should not do is say, “You know it really bothers me, but it’s ok. Who doesn’t have something that bothers them?”
In my own experience, I’ve found this to be a deeply disturbing way of living. When you accept the unresolved issues, you tolerate it. When you tolerate something, you are saying to yourself and to the world around you, you really don’t mind, it’s okay with you, and you are happy to accept.
Life will always you you what you tolerate. If you can’t tolerate it, you’ll always find a way to improve the situation. Your earnings, your body, your relationships, your overall happiness right now is exactly what you are happy to tolerate. If you can’t tolerate $3000 a month, you’ll always find a way to make more, but if you’re okay with it, life will never offer you more.
Always be vigilant about what you are tolerating in your life.
If something makes you unhappy or something’s bottling up, you must tackle it immediately and ferociously. If someone’s bothering you, speak to them and tell them what’s bothering you; confide with your loved ones or your spouse; write about it; email back saying why you are not fine with how things went on; speak up; see a doctor if you have to, but never just say it’s okay when you’re really not okay with it.
Because if you simply accept things as they are, it will just keep on festering your mental and emotional state.
In our naivety, we wishfully think it’ll all be okay but the harsh truth of life is that without your effective intervention, it will probably only continue to escalate.
Check the reality, see how you feel inside, if it’s something outside, immediately seek to take the first step to fixing it.
Life is fragile, life is subtle, life is precious — do whatever you need to make sure you honour it’s fragility and it’s incredible beauty.
