Anxiety.

I was lying in bed with my oldest daughter, Summer, tonight when she said,  “Mama, I feel worried.” I asked her, “Why honey? What are you worried about?’ She replied, “I don’t know. I just feel worried.” It made my heart sink. What in the world does a 4 year-old have to worry about? I, of course, reassured her that she was safe and loved. I asked her to take some deep breaths and told her she had nothing to worry about. But then my mind got going. I thought about the recent conversations I’ve had with my sister and a good friend. Both have expressed having some increased anxiety lately. This feeling… this jittery, stomach churning, elephant crushing feeling is real. It’s not just in us as adult women. Little children feel it too. They are already suffering from a young age. Why?? What is it about our society that makes us feel this? Why do we worry about things happening that aren’t our reality? Why do we lie in bed with racing thoughts riddled with worry and anxiety? It’s not healthy. It’s all consuming and I hate it. I want to banish it from our lives -I want to make us more in tune with the moment. For what more do we have but this moment-this breath? This is all we have control over. It’s not about the‘what ifs’ of the next minute, the next day or the next week. All we know is the present. But yet we get wrapped up in what could be and what MAY occur.
More and more we are hearing about meditation and what it does for our wellbeing. But just simply coming back to the breath is what has often worked for me when I find myself unreeling.  Other than that, though, I don’t have the answer. I wish I did. I wish I could tell everyone the secret. I especially don’t want my daughters living in constant fear, worry or anxiety. I just want everyone to know they are not suffering alone. The feeling is real. But it doesn’t have to be our reality. Let’s make a pact to come back to the only place we have control. Right here, right now.
Be well,
LEW