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Punch Bag

July 9th, 2009 admin No comments

Stress, Poetry and the Punching Bag

We can be quite happy we have a lot of company in stress.

Those days of living a simple life on a farm are long gone. We live in a society that becomes more stressful every day. Just think of having to deal with voice mail and voice menus. You call customer service and you have to wait what seems to be a lifetime to talk to an operator. You must go through voice menus and menu options that have nothing to do with the question you need to ask. You are now stressed out.

Even though stress is caused by external factors, the effects are mediated by one’s abilities and perceptions. We need simple and effective solutions to today’s hectic pace to bring out our inner and, sometimes hidden, skills. Poetry and the punching bag are effective stress management tools: poetry for relaxation and the punching bag for mental repairs. You cannot punch the boss, but boy if you can punch that bag! Let it out and feel better. Poetry may lead you out of stress? It makes you think like mathematics and makes you wonder like astrophysics. Besides, poetry stimulates your mind; therefore, it makes you smarter. When you think, you got no time for stress.

Look at stress management techniques: it’s exercise (mental), it’s a hobby, it’s relaxation, it’s artistic expression, it’s natural medicine (e.g.: the body’s vital ability to heal itself). Dr. Alaoye (Ph.D in psychology) is specialized in stress management. Dr. Alaoye reads and writes poetry (1) to prevent, relieve and control stress.

Poetry is to the mind what food is to the body: nourishment. Poetry is a good way of relaxation; it promotes and expresses sensuality, spirituality, empathy and understanding. When twenty-four hours are not enough in a day, take an hour to read and or write poetry and to punch the daylights of that punching bag in the basement or at the gym. After you do that the twenty-four hours in a day magically seem fine.

References

(1) Passions of the Soul (poem book) by Elaine H. Olaoye, Northwind Publishers, 2002

About the Author

Joseph Mangraviti, author of Hooked on You (heart-felt poem book), was born in Genoa, Italy. After completing high school in Messina, Italy, he came to the States where he received a college education. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and kids. Mr. Mangraviti, besides being a successful IT Consultant, has always enjoyed reading and writing poetry and, most of all, sharing it with family, friends and the public. Visit www.josephmangraviti.com