Skip to content
Eric Ward - Unsplash

Time Thief: On Worrying

Audio Version (music by Sergii Pavkin)

Why worry? Because of fear. Fear comes in thousands of different shades of grey. It’s a numbing palette of colors that darkens a sunny day or intensifies the gloom of an overcast sky. Fear, in the colors of worry, is especially tragic.

Worry represents a sense of powerlessness and victimhood that can permeate our core selves. It will gladly take up residence in our hearts if we let it. When we worry, we unintentionally place a lot of trust in our distrust of everything.

We worry about almost everything in our negative-skewed culture: money, education, sex, health, politics, the environment, the planet, the space (if any) above the planet, who or what lies beneath the surface, too much water, not enough water. We worry about wars, vaccines, chemtrails, waking, sleeping, living, dying, making a difference, our souls, chakras, the size and shape of our bodies and body parts, and what the hell to do if we ever win the lottery.

But what is worry? Because we obviously don’t function very well with it. We maintain a basic survival and power through, but that is not truly living, is it?

Worry is a symptom of believing in the linear way of things. It is a way of superficially grounding ourselves while also paralyzing ourselves. It’s about attempting to control everything. We seek control over feelings, emotions, outcomes, circumstances, experiences, and stories. Why? Because of the perceived risk of pain.

We. Hate. Pain. Nonetheless, we place complete trust in its existence and potential for misery. Consequently, we attempt to create the illusion of control. The tragedy is that the human spirit simply does not respect it. Not one iota.

If we don’t control our thoughts, we’ll lose our mind, choices, will, and peace.

If we don’t control our children, they will get out of control, start using drugs, or kill someone.

We will go bankrupt if we don’t keep our finances under control.

If we don’t control our significant others, they will overpower us or abandon us.

If we don’t control less developed countries through endless war, trade embargoes, and relentless propaganda campaigns, they may get a foothold in the world market, earning an opinion and respect, and we simply can’t have that kind of level playing field.

Etienne Girardet – Unsplash

Control is, at best, a malevolent concept. It causes harm both internally and externally. Fortunately, the pendulum does not stop. And we’re learning to mitigate its extremes by raising awareness and putting in the effort to unravel, unlearn, detach, and disintegrate from antiquated ways of doing things.

Worry, like any other emotion, is an excellent barometer, indicating that we should look into something more closely. Where did that worry come from? Who does it belong to? What do I gain from worrying about this?

To worry less, we must practice shifting our energies toward trusting in the natural flow of life; life happens. Life is about change. Life is immeasurable. Life is.

Love your life.

Substance (Dance Pop Remix)” from Fleshwound Restitched