The Waste in Worry
If we were to keep a record of all the things we worried about during a
given period of time, we would discover, in reviewing them, that the
great majority of our anticipated problems or troubles never come to
pass. This means that most of the time we devote to worrying, even the
constructive kind that prompts us to try to come up with a solution to what
is troubling us, is wasted. Thus, we not only caused ourselves unnecessary
mental anguish, but also took up valuable minutes and hours that could
have been spent elsewhere.
To avoid this, it is often necessary to subject potential sources of worry
to the coldly objective and analytical light of reason. Once, sortly before
a major concert before a standing-room-only audience, a member of
Arturo Toscanini's orchestra approached the great Italian conductor with
an expression of sheer terror on his face. "Maestro," the musician
fretted, "my instrument is not working properly. I cannot reach the note of
E-flat. Whatever will I do? We are to begin in a few moments."
Toscanini looked at the man with utter amazement. Then he smiled
kindly and placed an arm around his shoulders. "My friend," the maestro
replied, "Do not worry about it. The note E-flat does not appear
anywhere in the music that you will be playing this evening."
The next time we find ourselves in the middle of worrying about some
matter, we might be wise to stop and ask ourselves what the odds are of
the problem really coming to pass. We may be able to go on to
something more constructive.
- by Brad Stevens
Nothing but the Truth!
David Casstevens of the Dallas Morning News tells a story about Frank
Szymanski, a Notre Dame center in the 1940s, who had been called as a
witness in a civil suit at South Bend.
"Are you on the Notre Dame football team this year?" the judge asked.
"Yes, Your Honor."
"What position?"
"Center, Your Honor."
"How good a center?"
Szymanski squirmed in his seat, but said firmly: "Sir, I'm the best center
Notre Dame has ever had."
Coach Frank Leahy, who was in the courtroom, was surprised. Szymanski always
had been modest and unassuming. So when the proceedings were over, he took
Szymanski aside and asked why he had made such a statement. Szymanski
blushed.
"I hated to do it, Coach," he said. "But, after all, I was under oath."
David Casstevens
"Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul"
Editor: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Patty Hansen
The Legacy
When my husband, Bob, died very suddenly in January 1994, I received
condolences from people I hadn't heard from in years: letters, cards,
flowers, calls, visits. I was overwhelmed with grief, yet uplifted by this outpouring of
love from family, friends and even mere acquaintances.
One message touched me profoundly. I received a letter from my best friend
from sixth grade through high school. We had drifted somewhat since graduation in
1949, as she stayed in our home town and I had not. But it was the kind of
friendship that could quickly resume even if we lost touch for five or ten
years.
Her husband, Pete, had died perhaps 20 years ago at a young age, leaving her
with deep sorrow and heavy responsibilities: finding a job and raising three
young children. She and Pete, like Bob and I, had shared one of those rare, close,
"love-of- your-life-you-can-never-forget" relationships.
In her letter she shared an anecdote about my mother (now long deceased).
She wrote, "When Pete died, your dear mother hugged me and said, 'Trudy, I don't
know what to say . . so I'll just say I love you.'"
She closed her letter to me repeating my mother's words of so long ago,
"Bonnie, I don't know what to say . . . so I'll just say I love you."
I felt I could almost hear my mother speaking to me now. What a powerful
message of sympathy! How dear of my friend to cherish it all those years and
then pass it on to me. I love you. Perfect words. A gift. A legacy.
Bonnie J. Thomas
"A Cup of Chicken Soup for the Soul"
Editor: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Barry Spilchuk
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