Where the stress is

I'm awake this time because I have a sore throat - the all-too-common ailment that afflicts me when I'm stressed. Tomorrow I am (partially) moving into my new apartment on the glorious upper westside of Manhattan, my favorite neighborhood in the city. Paying too much rent for a too small space but that's life in the best parts of the Big Apple.

Since I'm up, I thought I'd do some investigating into the nature of stress, or at the very least some thinking on the subject. My very unscientific theory is that our bodies unconsciously choose where to carry the stress by hitting us where it hurts so we pay attention. For example, I love talking to people, being engaged in conversation, learning about people's interests and experiences. Having a sore throat completely hinders this process. My mind knows that so my body says, "Hey, pay attention, lady. You are stressing yourself out and you need to SLOW down." So my throat gets a little dry, then a little scratchy, and then engulfed in flames. Aren't bodies amazing?

Even just writing about this stress helps to calm me down, helps to alleviate some of the soreness in my throat. I'm off to do some yoga, to meditate on how smoothly my partial move will go tomorrow, how marvelous my parents are to help me do my full move on Saturday despite the fact that they have moved me more times than I can count on my two hands. I may be out of commission for the remainder of the week if I can't find someone's internet connection to tap in my new 'hood. Never fear, though, I'll be posting more often than ever once I am set up with internet in my new digs next week!