Making Peace With Worry - May 3, 2021

Are you a worrier? It just seems to be in some people's nature to worry about everything and everyone that they care about.

Posted
May 6, 2021
Figure standing on side of mountain with arms outstreatched

Making Peace With Worry - May 3, 2021

Are you a worrier? It just seems to be in some people's nature to worry about everything and everyone that they care about.

Posted
May 6, 2021

"May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears." -Nelson Mandela

Alexander Jewish Family Service Friends – 

Are you a worrier? I know that I am; it just seems to be in my nature to worry about everything and everyone that I care about.

When I read the quote below from Mark Twain, I got a good chuckle.

“I have been through some terrible things in my life,
some of which actually happened.”

Like Mark Twain, most of the things I worry about never happen - but that doesn’t seem to be enough to make me stop worrying.

There is a wonderful Chinese proverb that speaks to this:

“That the birds of worry and care fly over your head, this you cannot change;
but that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent.”

One of the things that I am trying to be more mindful of in this year is to focus on those things that I have within my control and try to let go of some of the worry about things that I have no influence over.

The Roman philosopher, Seneca, put it this way:

“There are more things to alarm us than to harm us,
and we suffer more often in apprehension than reality.”

For me his words really ring true. I often find that outcome that I am dreading related to something that I am worried about is almost always worse than the actual thing or event when it happens. To make matters worse, I sometimes find that I procrastinate and put-off the things I worry about the most which - in the end - only extends the time that I have to worry about it.

So, if you are a fellow worrier, my wish for you this week is that you are able to approach your worries and fears with a little bit of humor (like Mark Twain) and with a whole lot of compassion for yourself – perhaps then we can allow the birds of worry to fly around us but not invite them to build a nest and stay.

Well that’s what I think.

Thanks for listening,

Carl Josehart's signature

Carl E. Josehart, MSW (he/him/his)

Chief Operating Officer

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