The Color of Worry

“I promise you

nothing is as chaotic as it seems.

Nothing is worth diminishing your health.

Nothing is worth poisoning yourself

into stress, anxiety, and fear.”

(Steve Maraboli, Un-apologetically You)

You know how it is... there's snow to shovel, or (in summer) the grass needs mowing, something on a vehicle or in the house needs fixing, you haven't visited "what's-her-lips" in a coon's age, the laundry's waiting, your paying job wants you to work overtime, and it feels like you just can't keep up.

Ever been in that boat - where keeping everything fixed, cleaned, organized, and attended-to takes more than you have in you? Stress builds up, sleep is hard to come by, and every part of your body is screaming at you that you need to breathe and slow down before your ticker blows a gasket.

Anna and I have rowed this boat off and on over the years. We have occasionally stopped mid-stream to ask ourselves a question that stops the boat from spinning for a moment: "will any of this worry matter in 20 years?" Well, some of what we do today will impact the road ahead - the forgiveness that we initiate; kindness to a neighbor; standing up to something that is unjust; the day-to-day care of family and friends; these things are stones cast into the waters of life that create long-lasting ripples.

Consider though, all of the worry we generate around our day-to-day living. Drive faster 'cause we might be five minutes late. Really?! In 20 years that will matter to anyone? We get ourselves all tied up in knots over aspects of our day that have no power to improve our quality of life. There are things that do need to be done to live well, and then there is all the rest that, 20 years down the road, will be long forgotten - dust in the attic of life's memories.

We have burdened ourselves in North America in our obsession with stuff, a burden wherein we feel obligated to attend to this stuff. We pour hours and hours of our life into fixing, buying, cleaning, organizing... meanwhile the lonely languish, the hungry starve, and victims suffer... and the years keep rolling by.

“Where'd the days go,

when all we did was play?

And the stress that we were under

wasn't stress at all,

just a run and a jump into a harmless fall”

(Paolo Nutini)

We could, however, stop caring about the unimportant bits, and choose instead to be attentive to the rich life possible for any who seek it. This is a life in which care of self becomes the model for care of our neighbor. This is the life in which "new and bigger" takes a back seat to coffee with a friend, a walk at sunset, or a meal with someone who is lonely. I experience that the richness of life is not in the rat-race for more money or more stuff - or for more busyness. Rich life is being present to the beauty of a moment, being aware of the plight of those I meet, using my gifts right now to do what I can to encourage others, to heal our world.

If you are feeling like the demands of life are eating away at you perhaps you need to ask, "will this matter in 20 years?" and "does this really improve my quality of life right now?" If the answer to either question is "no" then I'd be inclined to say, "let it go; it's not worth the stress."

YOU are beautiful, and the world needs your beauty to shine as brightly as it can, for there is only one of you, only one person with your gifts and wisdom, only one who can change the world for the better as you can. So let go of anything that holds you back; be attentive to what is truly of value in your day.

I leave the last word to Jesus, who in the midst of great burdens breathed deep:

"Therefore I tell you,

do not worry about your life,

what you will eat or drink;

or about your body, what you will wear.

Is not life more important than food,

and the body more important than clothes?"

(Matthew 6:25-34)

A seedling

sprouts

and flourishes

not in the

shadow

but rather

in the

sun

Be in the

Light

for you

are

Light

Laugh

Play

Breathe