Save your spark

The greatest malady of modern life is that man permanently seems to be on a treadmill! He is on the move all the time, running, running, running - and still in the same place.

One of my friends, who is a doctor, said to me that many of his patients had sudden outbreaks of high blood pressure. Outwardly they are calm, quiet, dignified individuals. But inwardly, the daily frustrations and irritations of life are taking their toll on these men.

They easily feel upset, irritated, annoyed, unhappy. The driver is delayed in reporting for work - and his master is driven into a frenzy. Frenzy is fine, if it is going to bring the driver to his door at once. But he knows it cannot - so who is the loser?


Jimmy Durante, the comedian, schooled himself never to be upset, never to feel irritated. Whenever he was faced with a trying situation, he would exclaim, 'That's the situation - so what can you do about it?' If we are wise and mature, we will learn to handle irritations without paying a heavy price in terms of frayed nerves and acute emotions. Have you seen the comic strip where an irate driver kicks the flat tyre of his car - and then howls in pain as his foot is sprained by the kick?

A mature and wise person learns to face life's daily irritations without being upset. The trick is to snap out of irritations and recover our calm and serenity. Better still, we should learn to block out irritations altogether, by adopting a tolerant, easy-going attitude towards people and events.