There is so much anxiety in the world today! I just returned from sharing with a group of women, who gather monthly at a local retreat house. Our discussion surrounded how much anxiety fills the air around us these days.
A friend of mine once expressed to me her great worries. She had prepared for so many possibilities, but still worried about all the other things that might happen. She worried about her children, her spouse, her job, and the list went on and on. In many ways, her anxiety paralyzed her.
I told her this story…
When my husband and I were first married, we had season tickets to a local AHL hockey team. I used to be very nervous driving into these games, because of the ever-changing winter weather in Central New York.
Prior to games, I would try to gather information about the weather and plan the safest route, time to leave, etc. One night we went into a game and settled into our seats. My husband watched the players intently, wondering who might rise up as a big star that night. I, on the other hand, contemplated what kind of snack I might have that night (I think you can tell who drove our interest in hockey.)
Well, as the game progressed I suddenly noticed that there were a lot of people looking our way, and in the next second I felt the worst pain I had ever experienced (these of course were years prior to giving birth). The cause of this arena attention and intense pain: I had been hit in the jaw with a hockey puck. The medical team swooped in to care for my injury. My husband consistently apologized for not catching the puck!
The point…We can plan for every scenario in the world, and then – we get hit in the face with a hockey puck! Or, in other words, the thing we couldn’t ever imagine happens.
When we feel anxious, we have to starve our anxiousness with uplifting experiences. If you know that a certain person, situation or experience will promote your anxiety, then choose the opposite. Next, ask yourself this, “what is the reality of my anxiety?”
So often, what we feel anxious about is not a reality – it is a possibility. In these moments, we need to “Let Go and Let God!” An easier thing to say than do, I know. But, the more we practice this, the more we starve the unnecessary anxiousness that can line our paths, and prepare ourselves to choose peace!
Until next time, we take a sacred (peaceful) pause…
A friend of mine once expressed to me her great worries. She had prepared for so many possibilities, but still worried about all the other things that might happen. She worried about her children, her spouse, her job, and the list went on and on. In many ways, her anxiety paralyzed her.
I told her this story…
When my husband and I were first married, we had season tickets to a local AHL hockey team. I used to be very nervous driving into these games, because of the ever-changing winter weather in Central New York.
Prior to games, I would try to gather information about the weather and plan the safest route, time to leave, etc. One night we went into a game and settled into our seats. My husband watched the players intently, wondering who might rise up as a big star that night. I, on the other hand, contemplated what kind of snack I might have that night (I think you can tell who drove our interest in hockey.)
Well, as the game progressed I suddenly noticed that there were a lot of people looking our way, and in the next second I felt the worst pain I had ever experienced (these of course were years prior to giving birth). The cause of this arena attention and intense pain: I had been hit in the jaw with a hockey puck. The medical team swooped in to care for my injury. My husband consistently apologized for not catching the puck!
The point…We can plan for every scenario in the world, and then – we get hit in the face with a hockey puck! Or, in other words, the thing we couldn’t ever imagine happens.
When we feel anxious, we have to starve our anxiousness with uplifting experiences. If you know that a certain person, situation or experience will promote your anxiety, then choose the opposite. Next, ask yourself this, “what is the reality of my anxiety?”
So often, what we feel anxious about is not a reality – it is a possibility. In these moments, we need to “Let Go and Let God!” An easier thing to say than do, I know. But, the more we practice this, the more we starve the unnecessary anxiousness that can line our paths, and prepare ourselves to choose peace!
Until next time, we take a sacred (peaceful) pause…
