Everyone anticipated being asked the standard "glass
half empty or glass half full" question as she raised a glass of water.
Instead, the lecturer asked, "How heavy is this glass of water I'm
holding?" with a smile on her face.
Answers from eight ounces to a few pounds were screamed out
by the students.
She retorted, "From my perspective, it doesn't matter
how much this glass weighs in total. Everything is subject to how long I hold
it. It becomes fairly light after a minute or two of holding it. The weight of
it can give my arm a little soreness if I hold it for an hour straight. My arm
will probably cramp up and feel entirely useless and paralysed if I hold it for
a day without stopping, compelling me to drop the glass to the ground. The
glass is always the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels
to me.
She continued, "Your anxieties and problems in life are
very much like this glass of water," and the students nodded in agreement.
Nothing happens even when you give them some thought. You start to feel a
little achy as you continue to think about them. You will feel absolutely numb
and paralysed if you think about them all day; you won't be able to move until
you drop them.