Coping up with stress

What do I do when I am stressed up and laden with burdens? What do I do when I feel that the problems and challenges of my monastic life inside the Cloister are getting worse and my mind cannot get focused on a solution?

Usually in the past, when I was not yet a monk and was still in the teaching profession, I cope up with stress and problems by doing two things: I take a long walk alone and I dine with a friend or a couple.
But now as monk, as much as I want to do the latter, I couldn’t just do it anymore for obvious reasons, but I still do the former. I take a long walk along the Cloister corridors and round and round I go, while contemplating on issues in my mind that need to be resolved and be given action.

Walking alone reflectively has a way of relieving stress and clarifying the mind cluttered with so many concerns. Walking has a way of focusing a cluttered mind. Chances are, after a long walk, you will reach the end of your walk finding the solution to your problem.

Sharing a meal with a friend helps a lot. When you are with friends at a dining table , things in your mind get clearer. You don’t need to share with them what things are bugging you but their mere presence makes your mind gets a clearer view of your plans of action to the solution. A meal prepared by a friend whom you know loves you is always a welcome treat. We share a meal in friendship and in love. In the monastery, we share our meals at table everyday and somehow, it serves the purpose to anyone of us who may have concerns and problems that need to be addressed.
For all of you people out there, sharing meals with a friend and loved one is one of the effective ways in dealing with your burdens.

One of the best Biblical incidents that prove to us the power of a long walk and the beauty of a love meal is the Emmaus incident.

The disciples were hurting, frustrated and confused. They needed a good long walk, seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They were probably hoping to get their minds focused when they reached home and to get themselves relieved from the confusion that Jesus’ death brought them.
And it was in the sharing of a meal prepared with love and friendship that they recognized the Lord. The disciples prepared the meal for that “Stranger” and broke bread with Him. With that, their eyes were opened and they recognized the Lord.

Life is indeed a journey. A long walk. And along this journey, we can get badly hurt and get severely confused. As we take our steps in this long walk, we can get wounded or bruised by stumbling or we can get frustrated and disappointed by the antipathy of those who are walking the journey with us.
But no matter how bruised, wounded, pained or frustrated we may be, we should keep walking, one step at a time, no matter how weak or feeble our legs may feel.

We should not allow the woundedness or brokenness of the journey to paralyze us into inaction. So we should keep on walking, one step at a time as the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and the destiny of the journey is reached only by those who are willing to walk without the cost, one step at a time unto eternity.

No matter how bruised or weakened we may feel, we have to keep a hospitable disposition, keep a friendly smile no matter how tired or confused you may be.

Sometimes, on days when we feel lost and hurting terribly, we are tempted to let all know that we are beset by problems so we turn irritable, grumpy and grouchy. Remember that the disciples of Emmaus turned to hospitality and graciously prepared a friendly meal despite their hurts and confusion.

The way to get our hearts ready to love again and to serve again is to be friendly, kind and gracious. Go against your grain. Overcome evil by the power of good.

Discover the power of a long walk. Explore the beauty of a love meal, and you will understand the blessings that the Emmaus disciples received!

Bless you all.