Stopping. David Kundtz

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      Facing the Mountain of Too Much

      “It's too much,” Mary Helen told me, “way too much. I just can't deal with it all!” Then she gave in to tears. Mary Helen, a successful and intelligent woman of thirty-eight, with a thriving career and a loving family, was close to the end of her rope.

      Any observer in my counseling office that day would clearly have seen that Mary Helen was in trouble: anxious, stressed, unfocused, irritable, unable to sleep, overwhelmed by life, and frustrated with her inability to manage it. She was angry at herself for her inability to cope and angry at me because I was the one to whom she had admitted it.

      Although she was not aware of it, she did know what the problem was. It was the first thing she said: “too much.” Upon further exploration, I found no underlying psychosis, no debilitating personality disorder, no family-of-origin dysfunction making a sudden midlife appearance, nor a marriage about to crash on the rocks of incompatibility. Just that life had become too much.

      Just that life had become too much? Hardly. Although the problem may seem well known, its vastness, depth, and long-term implications are still far from our conscious recognition. As with any hidden enemy, the contemporary problem of too much has its way with all of us. The damage is extremely severe and is sometimes even life threatening.

      Do you sometimes feel like Mary Helen, overwhelmed or emotionally numbed by the pace and sheer quantity of life? Are you reluctantly prevented by your overloaded schedule from keeping your true priorities? Do you feel unable to do all the things you need to do and still have time for yourself? Have you come to realize that it's been too long since you've enjoyed real, satisfying, and regular leisure? If so, you've found the right book.

      Do you have a desire to give more attention to the spiritual aspects of your life—your truly important meanings and values— but have been frustrated in trying to transform that desire into a real practice? You will find nourishment СКАЧАТЬ