Stress is a symptom of something else.
It's a sign that we're trying to evade the here-and-now
for the what-might-be or what-once-was.

In a National Public Radio Interview: Eckhart Tolle spoke to Christa Tippett about this.

MR. TOLLE:   What is stress?
Stress is normal in our civilization
but really basically what it means
is you would rather be somewhere else.

Stress means you want to be in the next moment
or you want already to be finished with what you're doing
while you're still doing it.

You would rather be finished with it.
Or while you're traveling towards someplace,
you'd rather already be there.

MS. TIPPETT: OK.

MR. TOLLE: But you're not.
And stress is so normal that everybody accepts
that, OK, if you're successful in life then you must be under stress.

MS. TIPPETT: Right. But I think counterintuitively
you're saying you lean in rather than wishing it away.

MR. TOLLE: Yes. It's by becoming friendly with the present moment.
What's my relationship, is the present moment my friend or my enemy?
Another little pointer. And it's a strange question, but if you look very closely,
you'd find that very often you make the present moment into virtually an enemy.
Or it becomes an obstacle.

MS. TIPPETT: And you're saying that we do have the power.
Whatever is enclosed in that moment,
we have the power not to define it as an obstacle.
And that's going to change the way we approach it.

MR. TOLLE: Yes. The first thing is the realization of what you're doing.
In other words, one could say: "see the madness in yourself".
And that's not a bad thing; it's a great thing,
because that is not something to be depressed about.
That means that you are awakening.
And that which is awakening is the awareness behind the thinking.

We have no choice but to experience each and every moment of life.
We could anesthetize ourselves using various drugs, or drinks, or excess food,
but that's an entirely different topic.

We are here physically regardless of how we feel mentally,
but we can feel better if we try to synch our mind and body…
If we try to be really present
and find small moments of happiness throughout the day.

Down the road, perhaps we will change our lives
and find larger, more permanent ways to inject happiness into it.
But for right now, this moment, we need to try to find small moments of happiness.

Changing one’s mindset from merely existing to really living isn't easy,
but once you do it, it is surprising at how contagious a positive attitude can be.

VidCon was interesting.

I engaged myself in enjoyable activities,
One of these enjoyable activities was eating more calories than normal,
and now I must deal with the consequences.

Some time soon, I will share a bit more about my YouTube conference experience,
but right now I am exhausted. I still have to unpack and return my rental car,
and today is the 1st of the month, which is the day I do banking and bill paying etc.

My goal for today is to get back into my maintenance eating groove,
and to make a plan as to what I will do during the next few weeks
in order to take off my vacation weight-gain. 

On Sunday, 7/31/11, I'll be driving home from VidCon.
It has been an interesting time, and I can't help but compare
the experience to conferences I've attended in my past.

During my first marriage, I attended a great many church conferences.
During my legal career, I attended a great many State Bar conferences.
This weekend I attended a YouTube conference.

Organizationally, all three conference types have a great deal in common.
The social structure of each type of conference has many similarities,

There is a hierarchy of people. ..the organizers...the volunteer helpers...
the workers...aka industry..those who have made it big,
and those who have a respectable following;
those who want to make a lot of money, those who have fame, those that seek fame,
those that just want to be around fame, and those who just want to have a good time.

This YouTube conference was different than any conference I've previously attended,
in that it was packed with young, energetic people who were wide open to life,
to positive experiences, and to friendship with others.
I enjoyed being around them, and was grateful for their kind attention to me.

My son, the web-genius, had many positive experiences
as he connected with his YouTube friends and acquaintances,
the brief time that we spent together has been pleasant,
and I feel very grateful to my Higher Power for this.

This afternoon I'm picking up a rental car,
then picking up my web-genius son,
and driving us to Los Angeles to VidCon.

VidCon is short for the annual YouTube Video Convention.
The first was in 2010, and this will be the second.
All 1200 spots have been sold out for quite some time.
I got an e-mail a few weeks ago asking anyone who had  ticket
but had changed their plans and didn't intend to go,
to return it for a full refund, because there is a waiting list of more than 1000.

I'm taking 1,100 individually wrapped, tiny, homemade, diet cookies
for the "YouTube Grandma" (me)  to pass out.
I've devised a plan on how and when I'm going to do that,
and I'll be interested to see how it works out.

I can admit to you, my friends who read DietHobby,
that VidCon, for me, is 90% about pleasing my son.
He produces, films and edits all of the videos of one of the YouTube "superstars",
and knows some of the big names there...however, he, himself, does not have a "big" name,
and he is a little anxious about how it's all going to go for him.

The hotel was sold out, so he will be sleeping in an extra bed in my room
which means I'll be more involved in his life than usual.
I just want everything to work out for him, and if it doesn't go as he hopes,
it is going to take a great deal of energy for me to remain positive.

This is sort of a first for us.
It could be a really good time, or the opposite.
However, I am determined to maintain a positive attitude
and I have made plans to guarantee that I, personally,
will have the best time possible...no matter what.

If I can find the time, I will make daily entries here,
and if not...please know that I'm thinking about you.

Today's video was based on my Thoughts about VidCon
and the social organization there, the stars, the fans, and the others.
Sociology was my college major, and I have always found such issues interesting.

We are who we are
because of all the things we have done,
the choices we have made and not made,
and the experiences that we’ve had throughout our lives.

To be upset, to hold a grudge, or harbor a regret
about something that happened in our lives in our past
is a pointless waste of time and energy.

I’ve made some “incorrect” choices, but so what?
Those decisions led me down a different path
than I might have ended up on,
had I not made that choice,
But without it, I would most certainly, not be me.

 Would I be ANYTHING like the person I am today,
without many of those experiences?
I don’t think so.

I made many stupid decisions in my life,
and I made some very good ones as well.
All these decisions, good and bad, have fused together
into making me the unique person that I am today.

I am the sum of every experience that I have ever had in my life,
every decision that I have ever made, every concept I have ever learned,
and every lesson forgotten.

We are who we are, because
we have been who we have been.
This is what makes each of us a unique human being
each with our own set of gifts to offer the world.