A lecturer when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked "How heavy is this glass of water?"
Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.
The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it.
If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.
If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.
In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management.
If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy,we won't be able to carry on."
"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."
"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down.Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can."
So, put down anything that may be a burden to you right now.Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while.
Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:
* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply be kind to others.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
* The second mouse gets the cheese.
* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
~ A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston , and walked timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer office.
The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard & probably even deserve to be in Cambridge . "We'd like to see the president," the man said softly.
"He will be busy all day," the secretary snapped.
"We will wait," the lady replied.
They didn't,and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted
"Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave," she said to Him!
He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance Obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, and he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office.
The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the Couple.
The lady told him! , "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus."
The president wasn't impressed. "Madam," he said, gruffly, "we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died.. If we did, This place would look like a cemetery."
"Oh, no," the lady explained quickly. "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard."
For a moment the lady was silent.
The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it cost to start a university? Why don't we just start our own? "
Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment.
Mr. And Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away,traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the university that bears their name, Stanford University , a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.
You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them.
Morning falls like rain into the city life There goes another night Losing my breath in waves Knowing that ever crash is bleeding the hourglass And taking the strife from all our lives
Everyone keeps talking They promise you everything But they don’t mean anything
We may loose our focus There’s just too many words We’re never meant to learn And we don’t feel so alive
So goodbye, these days are gone And we can’t keep holding on When all we need is some relief Through these hard times Through these hard times
Move your hands in circles Keeping me hypnotized The power behind your eyes Move around your bedroom cursing the naked sky You should be here tonight But you stay alone and cry
Say goodbye, these days are gone And we can’t keep holding on When all we need is some relief Through these hard times Whoa .. There’s something missing Oh whoa .. You’ll never feel it but you Oh whoa .. You’re gonna feel it when it’s gone When it’s gone
Say goodbye, these days are gone And we can’t keep holding on When all we need is some relief Through these hard times Hey .. These Hard times Oh no now .. Hard times Hard times
Say goodbye, these days are gone Say goodbye, these days are gone These days are gone
Like Sand Thru the Hour Glass, So Goes Our Lives ~
This January 2, 2008 was the 2nd Anniversary, of The Sago Mine Disaster. I live in the next town over, some 30 minutes away. I work with the Sister of one of the Miners who died in that mine. West Virginia Coal Miners are a Special Breed, and although I personally have no ties to what happened that January day, it was something that affected this entire area. One of the Local Headlines, said it best - "Nightmare at Sago Mine". And it truly was 'a nightmare' for the Families of those 13 Miners.
On January 2, 2006, Eighteen miners were underground at approximately 6:30 am when the explosion occurred. Five miners returned to the surface, forced back by high levels of carbon monoxide and smoke. Of the remaining twelve miners, one miner survived. Eleven miners, including the survivor, had barricaded themselves in the mine. The barricaded miners were found approximately 40 hours after the explosion occurred.
The Sago Mine disaster was a coal mine explosion on January 2, 2006, in the Sago Mine (pronounced/ˈseɪgoʊ/) in Sago, West Virginia, USA near the Upshur Countyseat of Buckhannon. The blast and ensuing aftermath trapped thirteen miners for nearly two days, only one of whom survived. It was the worst mining disaster in the U.S. since a 2001 disaster in Alabama killed 13 people, and the worst disaster in West Virginia since a 1968 incident that killed 78 people.
The Sago Mine disaster is also widely remembered for its high-volume publicity and around-the-clock news coverage. For nearly two days the disaster occupied the airwaves of television stations such as CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and all major American news broadcasts. The disaster even gained significant international attention. As a result of the high-profile nature of the transpiring events, major misinformation was given to the public. The most significant misinformation led to the wide-spread announcement in the press that 12 survivors were found and only one had died, only to report shortly after that in fact there had been only one who survived while the other 12 had perished.
Media description
The incident occurred at the beginning of the first shift after the mine had closed for the New Year holiday weekend. An examination conducted by a mine fireboss at 5:50 a.m. (all times Eastern Standard Time) cleared the mine for use. Two carts of miners were making their way into the mine to begin work. The first entered the mine approximately eight to ten minutes before the second.
The explosion occurred at approximately 6:30 a.m. and was heard and felt by many people outside the mine. It is not known what triggered it. Some early reports noted that there was a thunderstorm in the area at the time and suggested a lightning strike near the mine entrance may have ignited methane, though no one reported seeing such a strike. Sensors from the National Lightning Detection Network indicated at least two cloud-to-ground lightning strikes near the mine, CNN reported. Another early theory was that lightning struck a methane well that had previously been drilled from the surface to an area behind the seals. Methane wells are used to extract methane from coal seams and sometimes from sealed areas when methane levels are high.
No matter the time of year, changes in barometric pressure can affect methane liberation characteristics of a mine. Changes in barometric pressure during winter months can cause a more noticeable change in methane liberation rate due to the lower density of air. Other factors, such as whether the mine ventilation system is exhausting (negative pressure) or blowing (positive pressure) and the operating pressure(s) of the fan(s), can also contribute to the significance of changes in methane liberation rate. Decreasing barometric pressure will cause methane to seep from the coal seam and to potentially leak from sealed areas. An increasing barometric pressure will cause methane to stay in-seam or within a sealed area more so than usual. The moisture content of air (humidity) is less during the winter months and creates a drier mine environment. A drier mine environment, in conjunction with lower barometric pressures, has been known to contribute to past mine fires and/or explosions. Storm systems, such as that which was over and around the Sago Mine at the time of the explosion, are low pressure systems that, as described above, usually causes methane liberation to increase, even from sealed areas.
Fourteen men on the second cart escaped the initial explosion. The 13 trapped miners were on the first cart, which apparently passed the point where the explosion occurred. The foreman on the second cart, whose brother was among those trapped, the mine superintendent and three others entered the mine in an attempt to rescue the trapped miners. They made it as far as 9,000 feet (2,743 m) into the mine before air quality detectors indicated there was too much carbon monoxide to proceed. In addition, repairs they had made to ventilation controls raised fears that increased fresh air to the interior of the mine might cause a second explosion.
McCloy wrote, "About three weeks before the explosion that occurred on January 2, 2006, toward the end of our shift, Junior Toler and I found a gas pocket while drilling a bolt hole in the mine roof. Our detector confirmed the presence of methane. We immediately shut down the roof bolter, and the incident was reported up the line to our superiors. I noticed the following day that the gas leak had been plugged with glue normally used to secure the bolts."
He remembered that on January 2, 2006 just after exiting the mantrip, "the mine filled quickly with fumes and thick smoke and that breathing conditions were nearly unbearable...." At least four of the rescuers, the emergency oxygen packs, were not functioning. "I shared my rescuer with Jerry Groves, while Junior Toler, Jesse Jones and Tom Anderson sought help from others. There were not enough rescuers to go around."
Because of the bad air, they "had to abandon our escape attempt and return to the coal rib, where we hung a curtain to try to protect ourselves. The curtain created an enclosed area of about 35 feet [10.7 m]."
They "attempted to signal our location to the surface by beating on the mine bolts and plates. We found a sledgehammer, and for a long time we took turns pounding away. We had to take off the rescuers in order to hammer as hard as we could. This effort caused us to breathe much harder. We never heard a responsive blast or shot from the surface."
After becoming exhausted, they stopped trying to signal. "The air behind the curtain grew worse, so I tried to lie as low as possible and take shallow breaths. While methane does not have an odor like propane and is considered undetectable, I could tell that it was gassy."
According to McCloy, Junior Toler and Tom Anderson tried to find a way out. "The heavy smoke and fumes caused them to quickly return. There was just so much gas."
At that point the miners, despite their fears, "began to accept our fate. Junior Toler led us all in the Sinner's Prayer. We prayed a little longer, then someone suggested that we each write letters to our loved ones."
McCloy "became very dizzy and lightheaded. Some drifted off into what appeared to be a deep sleep, and one person sitting near me collapsed and fell off his bucket, not moving. It was clear that there was nothing I could do to help him. The last person I remember speaking to was Jackie Weaver, who reassured me that if it were our time to go, then God’s will would be fulfilled. As my trapped co-workers lost consciousness one by one, the room grew still and I continued to sit and wait, unable to do much else. I have no idea how much time went by before I also passed out from the gas and smoke, awaiting rescue."
Information from Wikipedia
The Note by JR Toler
In Memory of Those 12 Miners who went to Work one January Morning ,
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