We had nothing to do with the creation of our life at the beginning, so why do we worry about tomorrow?
I asked this question of someone once, and they (indignantly) replied, “because we have agency.” Sure, we have the ability to make decisions and take action, but why would we employ this ability in worry? Plan, review, analysis, contemplate, calibrate, learn…but why worry? We literally could not stop the coming of our life, and we ultimately can not stop its passing.
The #1 principle for personal resilience is spiritual as a connection to the transcendent; to the larger that is beyond us. I can visualize this as being caught in a powerful storm, but having an anchor that holds my boat steady. Better yet, think of being anchored at both horizons above the waves and feel the power of distance – Its reach is its strength. Much different than the short term reactiveness / short-sighted awareness that most often keeps us in anxiety. When we lose our sight of the larger/transcendent, we come to feel alone in our struggle; powerless and overwhelmed.
AA groups have this figured out by acknowledging their “higher power”. In this acknowledgement they retain the awareness that they are not alone, and need not feel overwhelmed. Their widely know slogan is “one day at a time”, and maybe this simple phrase holds a key to resilience for all of us.
Each day has enough challenge in it that we do not need to borrow from the future and create overwhelm – especially given that we honestly do not what will ultimately come.
Three years ago, I worried about having enough business to put food on the table, but that season has changed. Now I tend to worry about being enough for the challenges I face – to make the right decisions for the weight of responsibility I carry. At both ends of these extremes, I will lack peace if I forget that I am connected to the transcendent, that my life was created with purpose and in that I can always know that I am never alone.
