“You Work, You Save, and You Worry So…”
Last week I talked about my concern that we tend to not get worked up enough about the state of the world. Funny how you can step around a corner and Bang!– you’re looking at the other side. My father sent me a newspaper article this week from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Although at first glance it seems to provide useful information — graphs, statistics on medical care for retirees — a closer look had me jumping back like I’d stuck my nose into a funky garbage can. After checking out my response with that of my husband Jim, I tossed the thing into a file drawer.
Why, you ask, did I flip out? Well, I’d be pleased as punch to answer: I no longer conspire with worry-mongers. My dad, on the other hand, is a full-out black-belt, proselytizing worrier. I can remember hearing his voice back in my teen years, responding on many occasions to my innocent statement that I wasn’t worried about whatever it was. “Well,” his deep voice would boom, “You SHOULD worry!” And so I did. I learned to be a champion worrier. Hell, I’d worry if I even suspected that I might run out of toilet paper before my next scheduled trip to the grocery store. Did you notice the word “scheduled?” Yep — I was also a world-class control freak. More on that another time.
But as I began to look at my life in a new light in my 40s I realized there is a hidden hand guiding everything we do (not necessarily “God” — but a greater intelligence.) And then I understood that a soul that is lovingly, purposefully guided and supported every step of the way is wasting absurd amounts of energy by worrying. As James Redfield, author of The Celestine Prophecy stated in an interview, “Worry is negative prayer.” Oops! That really hit home for me. The last thing I want to do is send more negative energy out into an already gasping world.
The aforementioned article on the growing cost of medical care for baby boomers meant well, but its whole point of view was to scare the shit out of us about how “unsafe” retiring at any age now is, unless you’re Bill Gates. Worry because of scarce resources is big in the media these days. While I agree that there will be people going under financially, and who knows, I could be among them, I know that worrying is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Especially harmful is dwelling on “statistics” and anything quoted from “experts.” Please. Who can be more expert than me about how I choose to create my life?
Interestingly, large numbers of people (also sheep) are quite easily directed if someone yells “Fire!” and then points to the door they want said sheeple to pass through. So I hope you’re not in “worrier” mode. Here’s an interesting fact: You can’t worry and be fully present at the same time. It’s not possible — our conscious mind can’t achieve that particular multi-tasking challenge. Try it out if you haven’t already.
Whenever I’m tempted to worry, I ask myself — “Is everything okay in THIS moment?” The answer can only be “yes” unless you just expired. (Now THERE’S a whole other topic) Then I remind myself that the future is just a string of “this-moments.” So the chances are really good that they’ll be fine, too.