The world is mourning the loss of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his 13 year old daughter, and the 7 others who lost their lives yesterday. Such tragedy, and seemingly so random. You just never know what may happen.
We may worry about random tragedies in our own lives. If not a tragedy, maybe it’s other fears or obstacles we see as mountains. Maybe it’s health concerns, future plans, family issues, looming deadlines, or simply “did that milk I just drank really have that expiration date?“.
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) wrote the Serenity Prayer. The best-known form starts: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference…”. Sometimes we worry when we should just be taking action, sometimes we worry about things that are out of our control, and we need to “simply” stop. I know I’ve said the full prayer hundreds of times in my life to just stop my worrying mind – it takes practice, but while not perfect, this “meditation” is one tool you can use.
Worrying does not add a single hour to your life. It only takes away. “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? (Luke 12:25-26). Another favorite passage of mine is Philippians 4:6-7 where peace comes from praying (for yourself and others), and being thankful. If you are worried, cast your cares away. Wad them up and throw them in the river to take them away (well, okay, that’s littering. Don’t do that, but you get the idea).
Finally, another personal favorite weapon against worry is from the music world. As Bob Marley sings “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”(link=> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3HQMbQAWRc ).
Have a happy day!