This I Believe by Mackenzie J.
When a person is stressed, it is easy to watch that person become consumed by their thoughts
and worries, stuck in a seemingly endless loop of dread or anger. Stress is something that, in a
regulated amount, is healthy to have. But, I believe that letting go of stress heals the soul and
shows hidden beauty in the world.
I have wondered for many years and pondered about where my place in the world is. I have
spent countless times pulling at my hair and lost nights of sleep over the simple yet seemingly
easy question of “Where is my place in the world?” I have spent hours thinking, reworking,
doubting, struggling, and wrestling myself into confusion trying to find my answer. There have
been nights that have ended in tears due to the sheer amount of stress that I had let myself hold
onto for days straight.
It has only been recently that, while I sat out on my roof in the cool early
morning, watching the sun slowly rise, I realized that I have not gotten myself anywhere with all
this pointless stress. As I had sat out there on the roof, hidden away from all the mundane
issues of society that hang heavy over a person’s mind, weighing down on their soul in the
attempt to force them into something ordinary, I had taken a breath and let it go.
The stress I released let me see the temporary beauty in the world. I was able to not only hear
the sounds of the birds chirping, but listen to the music they were making. The stress that had
its icy grip on me turned the sweet sounds into a constant annoyance. But once I let the
negative weight go, I felt the beauty in the sounds start to come back, I felt the rising of the
sun’s rays warm my skin and it made me realize that our time on this ball of rock is limited and
to limit ourselves even further would be something incredibly foolish to do. Before I had let
myself relax, I would pace my room and try to expertly plan my years into a forced schedule,
ignoring the fact that tomorrow is not something that we are guaranteed to see. That useless
stress, the unnecessary amount that I had forced myself to carry day in and day out had worn
away at my mind and my soul, leaving me to be a worrying, cold-hearted person who would
waste her days away to try and find answers to questions that should not be worried over
consistently.
Stress, within small amounts and about important things, is something that every human will
learn about, will suffer with as long as they are able to understand things. However, I believe in
the importance of being able to let go of stress, to help heal the soul and relax the mind so a
person can experience the beauty not only in themselves but the beauty that surrounds them.
