One day a year or so ago, when I was in the middle of pretty much the shittiest period of my life thus far, bracing for the impact of a couple of really stupid decisions and trying to convince myself that it was all going to come out ok, I stopped by my friendly neighbourhood fry truck for my usual nutritious lunch. As I sat on some concrete steps, munching, and watched the sparrows going about their sparrow business, I thought to myself, "Someday, I 'll be a sparrow. I'll flit around, right here by this fry truck, puff up my feathers against the cold and sing for scraps of hot dog bun".
That was pretty much the most relaxing thought I've ever had. Now every time I get stressed about something, I just think about how little I'll care about that thing when I'm a sparrow and I feel better right away. I'm not necessarily recommending this as a stress management technique for others - particularly since it requires that you be completely irrational, which is something I'm a lot better at than most people - but it has never failed me yet.
