I have heard it said that "worrying is trading in today's peace for the possible woes of tomorrow" and I am inclined to agree with this assessment. It is a struggle to surrender the mind and the emotions to the fact that we simply do not have to power to change the things that we cannot change -- and so what exactly is it that we are worrying for? Our inability to do more than what we can do is a great cause of worry. My friend, consider the notion that you are not designed to carry the totality of life's heavy loads, but merely to do that which you can humanly do.
Here are three very simple ways to combat worrying:
1. Pray -- a consistent, not just daily, but continually throughout the day, conversation with God, is our first defense against worry. For anyone with a spiritual connection to a Higher Power should have a constant plug-in to that power, and prayer is the conduit to the constant connect. Many people have a "prayer time" -- however it is far more effective to have a prayer-filled life, in which we pray -- converse with a Higher Power -- throughout our awake moments.
2. Focus -- not on the issue(s) that conjure up worry, but things that direct your thoughts towards things that bring peace and serenity to your inner being. The Bible tells us to think on these things; whatsoever things are pure, lovely, honest and true. There truth about worry is that it is a very close kin to fear -- false evidence appearing real -- and chances are that whatever we are worrying about is not based on truth, honesty or purity. Worry is most often causes one to distort the facts of the circumstances.
3. Dance -- learning to dance in the rain or appreciate the difficulties of life as opportunities to learn and grow is a powerful way to ward off worry. The ability to embrace the process by which we are blessed to gain valuable insight on who we are and what we are made of. Dance your way through the storm! Dancing is a representation of offering up praise and gratitude. Dance because whatever you need, can't over shadow what you already have!
Life is inundated daily with reasons to fall into the worry trap. Bills due, children -- the adult ones more so than the minors, high crime rates, inflation, health problems, etc. etc. -- the list could stretch for miles; however, tell me which of these circumstances can be remedied by worrying? Worry does not have the power to produce money, protect children, stop crime, regulate the economy, or keep us healthy -- in fact the stress derived from worrying can contribute to poor health; worry is a useless avenue.
Having a concern is not the same as worrying, it is human to have concerns. But remember that worry is a sly enemy, it will take control of a concern, magnify and distort it until you are no longer merely concerned but spiraling into the dark place that resides just before we reach utter fear; a place called worry.
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