Worry

That the birds of worry and care fly over you head, 

this you cannot change, 

but that they build nests in your hair, 

this you can prevent. ~Chinese Proverb

Worry.
So, who else manages to worry in their life?  I know that I do.  I worry over everything, I worry about everyone.  For me, sometimes the smallest things cause the most opportunities for worry.  The little, busy moments that just creep in and give you a nudge in that direction.

Here's the problem:

Worry is SO the opposite of living and serving with faith and purpose. It's the opposite of what you came here to do, right? It is the opposite of trusting Him and knowing that He will help you.  

Someone once calculated that up to forty percent of our worries never materialize. Thirty percent deal with the past and cannot be changed.  Twelve percent focus on criticism that is mostly untrue.  Ten percent deal with our health, which only becomes worse as we worry.  And only eight percent of the things we worry about actually come to pass.  

The point here is simply that we should be focusing on the real problems in our lives and working to fix them instead of putting all of our attention into things that we have very little chance of doing something about.  

In my life, I seem to always be trying to try harder and do more.  To be a better wife, to be a better mother, to be a better teacher.  Those efforts seem to not succeed as often as I would like maybe because I am trying to do too much.  I have realized that I need to take the Saviors counsel found in Matthew more to heart.  Specifically, "Take ye no thought for your life".  As I read this today, the thought came to me that I need to stop worrying about all the little things.  (Those 92% of things that aren't going to be helped by fretting over them).  These seemingly small things that drain my energy and my spirit.  

Instead of putting so much of my time into worrying, I think that I need to focus more on helping those around me.  I am realizing that when I am worrying about little things, I am really worrying and thinking about me instead of thinking about others. But when I focus more on caring and helping those around me, I find that I am more relaxed and pleasant.  The "little things" don't have the ability to upset me any longer.  And  I am learning that, as I struggle to minimize the worry, I really am happier.  

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy. ~Leo Buscaglia

Worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but doesn't get you anywhere.

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. ~Mark Twain