The Color of Anxiety

“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... the grass needs mowing, something on a vehicle or in the house needs fixing, you haven't visited "what's-their-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 rowed 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 sailed these seas off and on over the years. A couple of years ago we asked ourselves a question that stopped the room 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 becuase 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.  

In our North American hyper-anxiety we purchase things we do not need, work longer hours to pay for these things, and then worry that we do not have time to use them. According to statistics we are wound up way too tight with no idea how to undo our worry. 

“Anxiety is love's greatest killer.

It makes others feel as you might

when a drowning man holds on to you.

You want to save him,

but you know he will strangle you with his panic.” 

(Anaïs Nin) 

Perhaps there is an answer though. We could stop caring about the unimportant bits, and choose instead to be attentive to the rich life that calls to us. 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 the richness of life, not in the rat-race for more money or more stuff - or for more busyness. I discover abundant life in 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 worry."  

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 of Nazareth: 

"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)

The color of Anxiety...

suffocation of the heart.

I worried

about

tomorrows

that

might never

arrive

while

missing

todays

that would

never

repeat

Breathe

Listen

Be

To Ponder Further:

- From the Bible: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippinas 4.6-7)

- From Sikhism: "Should anyone be victim of great anxiety, his body racked with maladies, beset with problems of home and family, with pleasure and pain
alternating, wandering in all four directions without peace or rest; should he then contemplate the Supreme Being, Peaceful shall his mind and body become." 

(Adi Granth, Sri Raga, M.5, p. 70)

- From African Traditional: "Our Father, it is thy universe, it is thy will: Let us be at peace, let the souls of the people be cool. Thou art our Father, remove all evil from our path." (Nuer Prayer - Sudan)