As far back as I can remember being aware of the world outside of myself, there has been discord somewhere.
At the age of 6 I remember my mother crying over the news that John F. Kennedy had been killed. Later I remember the journalists that would bring us footage on the Vietnam War. There were ugly actions by people who I would normally think of as decent human beings, until they shot, beat or turned a firehouse on people simply because of the color of their skin. But I also remember my mother waking me and my brothers and sisters up to watch the launch of Alan Shepard, John Glenn, the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space flights. I watched the peace walks of Martin Luther King Jr. and saw the Beatles change musical history. During this time there were earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. And I would see and hear people talk of the "biblical" implications of the negatives going on. It was almost as if the bad outweighed the good, but I knew that wasn't true. Each day I experienced some good, fun times. There seemed to be a parallel between playing with my friends on the playground and ducking under my desk for cover in case of attack. One minute we were outside playing and then, in class, we hid from danger. Not that ducking under a desk would have helped at all. What it did do was serve to confused me to see the adults around me acting so inconsistently. It seemed to me then, as it does now, that it was just life unfolding before me. Things happened. Some of them good, some bad and some neutral. I saw some people worry. I saw others panic. And some seemed to give up all hope that any happiness would be safe from the negatives they dwelled on. But then, the next day even, something funny or wonderful would happen and I found myself wondering why the worriers continued to worry. As I got older I saw that every day we have choices on how we react to the unfolding of life around us. Good, bad or neutral. I won't go so far as to say I never worry-(I am a mom and a grandmother, so worry seems built into those roles)-but even so, if I can catch it and notice the worry begin to come up, I can turn it into something else. I can take action to change the things I can, accept the things I cannot change and use wisdom to distinguish the difference. The serenity prayer is a wonderful tool to put into action when we begin to worry. Since worry doesn't solve anything, it is just a waste of energy. Of course we are hard wired to worry simply for survivals sake. Using caution for safety is the purpose for worry. But it's not like a saber tooth tiger is hunting me. Yes, there are dangers and reasonable caution is important. But when we find that worry is running our life I would say that's a good time to step back from the emotion, investigate it a bit and make a change with our relationship with worry. Putting it back in its place of sensible caution. "Be empty of worrying. Think of who created thought! Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open? Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking. Live in silence. Flow down and down in always widening rings of being." -Rumi *Joanie Lane is director and teacher at "A Positive Light" meditation center. For more information on Joanie and the center visit www.apositivelight.com
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