Posts
Dealing
with the Killer Called Stress
Observations
and Advice by Captain Paul Watson
Via Facebook
I
have had numerous requests to repost the commentary I wrote on
Dealing with Stress. I also have been motivated to post this because
of a recent suicide by a former crew member. Here it is again.
We
shall not cease from exploration
And
the end of all our exploring
Will
be to arrive where we started
And
know the place for the first time.
- T.S.
Elliot, The
Four Quartets
I
am often asked how I deal with stress considering I’m wanted by
Japan and Costa Rica, I have a price on my head from the shark fin
mafia of Costa Rica, we have numerous ships on the sea in dangerous
campaigns, I am being sued, threatened and harassed continuously and
I have a lot of enemies, critics and people who wish me harm.
The
answer to this is simple. I don’t deal with stress, because I do
not suffer from stress. And these are ten primary reasons why, and
for anyone suffering from anxiety, worry or stress, I would like to
offer this advice.
1.
It is what it is. Whatever the issue, whatever the threat, whatever
the circumstances it simply is what it is. Stressing will not change
the situation. All problems can be dealt with or ignored.
2.
“It’s always something.” I say this all the time to my crews
whenever a problem arises. “It’s always something and if it’s
not something, it’s something else, but it is always something.”
This means that life comes with obstacles, challenges and problems.
Problems should not be unexpected. They are inevitable. All problems
can be dealt with by dealing with them, delegating someone else to
deal with them, or ignoring them. One thing for sure, on a ship, it
is definitely always something.
3.
Stay calm. There really is nothing worth getting upset about. For
example, if I drop a bottle of wine or tomato sauce and it shatters,
my reaction is, “hmmm okay, that needs cleaning up.” If I lose my
phone, wallet or keys, my reaction is “I better replace what I lost
and take measures to cancel my cards etc. More seriously when my
regulator jammed once at 30 meters, I calmly signaled my partner to
indicate my situation. Fretting about it will not recover the object.
Panicking will not save your life. Anger emanates from stress.
Without stress there can be no anger. Without stress there is no
panic.
4.
Nothing material is permanent and thus objects are not worth
stressing about. Your car is damaged, something you own is stolen, or
you lost your investments etc. It is really not important. Material
objects and comforts are nice but they should not be anchors keeping
you attached to stress. Move on.
5.
Friends are friends or they are not. A true friend will never betray
you and if a “friend” does betray you than he/she is simply not a
friend. Always walk away from betrayal and do not stress about it.
True and loyal friends are rare treasures and should be treated as
such. Loyalty returns loyalty. Compassion returns compassion. Courage
returns courage. However you control only your own loyalty,
compassion and courage, not that of others. And if they prove
disloyal or they betray you, the treasure is no longer a treasure but
merely a bauble to be tossed aside. Never stress about betrayal or
loss. It is what it is. And if you’ve been betrayed once by
someone, do not allow yourself to be betrayed again by that same
person.
6.
Loneliness is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to discover
yourself. You can’t find someone to love you if you don’t love
yourself, and the secret to finding the right person is to not look
for that person. Love should blossom from the ground like a lovely
wild flower. It cannot be cultivated until after it is realized. Do
not seek the seed but let the flower reveal an opportunity to you to
grow and learn.
7.
Relationships are like streams, constantly flowing and as they flow
they meet obstacles. Some are minor and others major but a
relationship either flows around the obstacle or it is blocked, and
if permanently blocked, it ends. This is not cause for stress or
angry, resentment or jealously. It is what it is. Move on with
appreciation and without bitterness for the relationship that is no
more, and open your heart to other possibilities that life presents.
The most important factor in maintaining a meaningful relationship
with lovers, family or friends is simply acceptance. You need to
accept them for who they are and they need to accept you for who you
are. If you cannot accept another person for who they are, you need
to stop inflicting stress on that person and to walk away. And if
another person does not accept you for who you are, you need to walk
away no matter the nature of the relationship. Stress kills and
living with a person who does not accept you for who you are is like
living with a person who is slowly killing you.
8.
Fear is a poison that seeps into the soul and paralyzes our senses
generating paranoia, insecurity and anger. Never let fear enter your
life. There is really nothing to fear because things are what they
are and will be what they will be. Remember you are the captain of
your fate and the master of your soul and body. Who you are and what
you wish to be depends on you and you alone. A person free of fear
can accomplish far more than a person shackled to fear.
9.
Oscar Wilde once said that the only thing worst than being talked
about was not being talked about. People talk, they gossip, they make
false accusations, some enjoy insulting and belittling others. They
are easily dealt with by ignoring them. Responding to them is what
they want, so don’t respond. Reacting to them is what they want, so
don’t react. Such people are not worthy of causing stress to you.
They come from a place of insecurity, jealously and fear. It is their
stress, and their stress is their problem. It should not be your.
10.
Hoka Hey. It’s a good day to die. It’s a Lakota saying and it
means to not fear death and to stand firm for what you believe in, to
fight against all odds and to never surrender. The one absolute of
life is death. We all will die. What matters is not dying but living.
It is how you live that is important and the only thing important
about dying is how you die. It should be a death without fear, with
dignity and with acceptance that it is what it is. The person without
fear dies but once, the person shackled by fear dies slowly from
stress and anxiety. Accept the inevitable, embrace the final reality
of life and smile in the face of the infinite. The real secret to
happiness is to not fear your own death, to not fear failure or
ridicule, and not to fear others.
Stress
is an obstacle to mindfulness and an impediment to impeccability.
Stress is the cause of migraines, cancer and many other ailments. It
is the reason people smoke, take drugs, and drink excessively. When
people ask me why I’ve never smoked anything, the reason being is
that I have never felt inclined to do so. It never seemed healthy to
me and I have always been mindful of the consequences. I think that
stress blocks mindfulness of consequences. The same holds true to
getting drunk or stoned. Without stress there is no need, nor a
desire to do either.
Mindfulness
is simply awareness of who you are and what you are doing. A person
who is mindful is a person free of stress.
Unfulfilled
desire leads to stress. Wanting nothing allows you to appreciate what
you have. When you want nothing, you want for nothing. We all have
basic needs for food, for warmth and shelter, for clothing and for
companionship. Mindfulness allows you to be secure with your basic
needs. Everything else is a luxury and although luxuries may be
appreciated, you should not depend upon them. Depending upon luxuries
leads to stress.
I
have never worked a day in my life for the sole purpose of making
money. I have never wanted to own anything and although I now do own
property and material things, I do not allow those things to own me.
I never engage in arguments about money or debts. I tend to avoid
debts but when debts occur my position is that they are what they are
and certainly not anything to be troubled with.
As
far as basic needs, I learned to address this as a teenager when I
left home at 15. I had no money, no place to stay, no prospects. I
jumped a freight train, rode in the automobiles being transported
from Toronto all the way to Vancouver. I arrived and camped in the
abandoned gun towers on Wreck Beach and the first thing I did was to
go to Vancouver City College to enroll. I found a job, moved out of
the gun tower into a single room I rented and went from there.
Looking back I see it as an adventure. I had nothing, but there was
no stress. I simply reframed the insecurity of my position into an
adventurous experience. I treated every job as a learning experience
and working as a longshoreman, teamster, tree planter, warehouse man,
short order cook, baker, painter, carpet layer, postman, tour guide,
landscaper, and seaman all were educational experiences.
The
truth is that all of life is an adventure, the good and the bad, the
ups and the downs, the experiences, the hardships, the thrills and
the times that were lonely, happy or difficult. Even the loss of
friends and family is simply dealt with by acknowledging that death
is as it is. It is inevitable and although we may sincerely mourn we
can do so without being stressed. This may be difficult to understand
but it is indeed quite possible. With the passing of every friend,
with the passing of my brother I have silently said “Good-bye”
with the appreciation of having known them.
I
have gone into situations many times where the risks of injury, death
or imprisonment were practically a certainty. My approach has always
been acceptance. And amazingly I am still alive and still free. When
I have had nothing.I have had everything I need, and when I have
risked all, I have usually been successful. One of the things that
concerns me is when I read about, or hear of people, especially young
people committing suicide because of bullying. I wish that I could
talk to such people before they make such a terminal decision. I
would tell them to not let the insecurities and fears of others
influence them in any way. I would tell them to accept that all the
ridicule, insults, bullying and peer pressure is irrelevant and
simply unimportant to who they are. If a parent is unaccepting of who
you are, you need to say to them that if you are unacceptable to them
they have no right to be your parent and you should walk away from
them. Too many people are enslaved to parents, partners and friends
who do not accept them
Unacceptance and bullying are forms of
violence and everyone should walk away from violence with dignity. No
one should tell you what to believe, how to think, how to dress, how
to behave or to dictate your sexual orientation or condemn you for
your compassion, your passion, your imagination and your character.
You are who you are and that is what it is, and how it should be, and
if others do not tolerate who you are, don’t give them the
satisfaction of destroying you. Simply symbolically spit in their
eye, walk away and concentrate on being who you are for the benefit
of yourself.
And
if anyone is inclined to commit suicide my advice is to commit social
suicide instead. That is, to drop out of your life as it is and begin
another life, in another place with new ideas. Adventure is the
antidote for depression. Take a chance, jump into the unknown and you
will be amazed at what is awaiting you after you do.
I
am not infallible. I have made mistakes in my life, many of them. I
have at times in the past responded with anger although rarely
physical and limited to the poison of the pen. I have let some people
down, disappointed others and missed opportunities. But the one thing
that I have been able to do in my life is to avoid stress.
At
64, I am healthy, happy, optimistic, and as passionate as I ever have
been. Even more so because I have had the grace of experience and the
satisfaction of achievement in those areas that I chose to address.
The
point of this posting is this: Do not let stress ruin your health,
your love or your life. Dreadnaught and live the adventure, this
adventure that is life. It may well be the only life you will ever
have. Even if you believe in the afterlife (oh and don’t stress
about that either) the fact is you will never know for sure, so no
sense wasting the unique life that you have.
A
stress free life is not only possible, it’s also essential for your
health and your happiness.
Meanwhile in the Faroes, they are at it again....
Faroese
Update: New Photographs Show Slain Young, Pregnant and Sickly-looking
Whales
Via
Facebook
Sea
Shepherd has received new photographs and video footage of the
slaughter of 61 pilot whales on the killing beach of Sandavágur on
August 12.
The
evidence indicates that there were a large number of pregnant and
young whales in the pod. Photographs also show that a number of the
whales had blotched skin, indicating they were diseased.
A
vet, who was on the ground after the slaughter when the whales were
being butchered, was told by a local that whales with blotched skin
were “no good.”
Given
original reports said a pod of 200 was spotted, Sea Shepherd believes
the pod may have been split, and that the young, pregnant and sick
whales, and those that were trying to protect them, were the 61 that
were eventually slaughtered.
There
are more threats to the Pilot Whales than just the slaughter. The
species as a whole is threatened by pollution, especially mercury. To
kill so many when we do not even know how many are being lost to
toxicity is irresponsible.
