From the moment we have our child … maybe from the moment they are in our womb, we are worrying. We worry about toxins, the sun, too much sugar, not enough milk. We fear they will try drugs, they will have sex too early or will meet the wrong people. We worry about predators. Will they be someone we know or someone we don’t know? We worry about other drivers when they are on the road. How are we going to protect them from danger? We ask this question until we die. I watch my father thinking about this question still, even though I am now 50. It never changes.
I don’t have an answer.
We can’t control what will happen. We want to but we can’t. This is the faith that we must have. I don’t know where the faith is supposed to come from or how to do it but I do know that it is about letting go. Doing the best we can and then letting go.
We try to balance giving our children enough information for them to pay attention to their surroundings but not too much so that they are afraid to live. We can feel all the pain of the world. And we can worry about our own children. But, we also can live.
I am going to choose to focus on all that is going right today, in my life, with my family and loved ones, in my country and in the world. I am going to use that positive energy to make a difference. I know that the power of worry leads to inactivity, to fear, to walls. Maybe you have experienced that too. I want that to stop.
Worry can cause us to miss the beautiful moments of our lives, as if we weren’t even there. Worry can keep us from experiencing happiness, passion and joy.
I will feel the pain of the recent events. I will talk to my children about it. I will continue to try to protect my children. But I will also be conscious of the fact that worrying has taken enough of my moments and my moments are finite. Remember, this powerful truth: Everything we have ever worried about ends up being resolved one way or another despite our worrying.
Live today and hug your kids.
theyearof50 