How do we deal with the fear and anxiety we have in these trying times of a corona virus epidemic?
The Rocking Chair
My husband had a sticker on the refrigerator for a long time. He was fond of repeating the phrase. It said, “Worry is like sitting in rocking chair. There is a whole lot of motion, but you don’t get anywhere”.
Anxiety
What if this should happen or what if that should happen? Fuss. Fuss. Fuss. Worry is a kind of anxiety. A lot of my anxiety is around trailering horses or broken fences and horses getting out onto the highway. Remember that anxiety is just made up. It doesn’t exist in the present, like the time I was so anxious about my husband trailering the horses that I made myself sick. We can put plenty of made up story around any occurrence. The event happened, but the emotion is made up. How we feel about it is a choice.
Worry is not in the present moment and is a waste of time. Fear is in the present, but it is just a label that we put on a whole lot of energy that is moving through us. Why not put a different label on it and call it excitement or joy?
Fear
Fear is usually based on a past experience. But sometimes Fear is in the present. How do we deal with what is in front of us? As I am editing this sentence, a log falls off the fire in the fire place and rolls onto the glass door. I get up and move the log back. That is how we deal with what is in front of us when we are not paralyzed by fear. Isn’t the universe funny? What divine perfection! And as I edit this piece a second time, another log falls off and hits the glass. I wonder how many times there will be the punctuation of a cosmic coincidence in the form of a falling log. Is it a lion attacking? Is it a log hitting the glass? Is it real in the present moment? Or is fear made up from a past experience?
It is very easy to make up a story about why we are afraid. The last time I did this, this happened. It might happen again. It’s too hot or too cold or too windy. My horse is too… It doesn’t matter. The stories don’t matter. We have the choice to arm ourselves with knowledge, awareness, and love. We have the choice to be in the present moment. Presence is the only place that exists anyway. And in this moment, we are safe.
Move closer and stay longer. –Stephanie Burns
Comfort Zone
I tell myself that I don’t have to try anything that I don’t want to do. Then I do what is in my comfort zone and I then think. Well maybe I’ll just try this. And I do. And then I surprise myself about how easy it was. And then I try something else. And then maybe I go back into my comfort zone. I just move closer and stay longer. There is a book out there by that title, Move Closer and Stay Longer by Stephanie Burns. It helped me to see a way to step out of my comfort zone. I found a way to be comfortably uncomfortable.
Sit, stand and act in love. Love contains all things including the made up feeling of anxiety and fear. Of course, in love they no longer exist because they aren’t true. Oh darn, you have to exist in love instead.
When you point yourself at fear, it can be dissolved with love. When you point yourself at love, fear doesn’t exist.
Exercises for Releasing Fear
- Place your anxiety or fear into a bubble and blow it away. Do this literally or figuratively.
- Enter the edge of your comfort zone. Approach and retreat. Approach and retreat. Until you have a new edge.
Exercises for Allowing Love
Exercise 1: Mirror work
Look into a mirror and tell your little one what she/he needs to hear. Ask her, What do you need to hear about this? Listen. And then tell her what she needs to hear. The answer will be something like: “I love you. I will keep you safe. You are beautiful.” Look into your left eye in the mirror and tell her what she needs to hear.
Exercise 2 Morning Prayer
Say the Morning Prayer and end with: God, how much Love can I possibly be today? Show me how much Love I am. Show me how much Love you see that I am. Show me how much you Love me. And then feel, listen and watch.
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