An Anxious Day

Many people are feeling anxious today, including the parishioner who wrote me an email at 4 AM as she was going to sleep. Facing the unknown is stressful.

Here are my four strategies for feeling less anxious today. I’m focusing on remembering words of wisdom from three people –

1. My yoga teacher, Deb Suarez, who says, “Breathe, breathe, breathe.”
2. Reinhold Neibuhr who gave us the Serenity Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.”
3. Along the same lines, Mary Oliver, who asks, “What are you going to do with your own wild and precious life?”

These words help me remember that we each have agency. We do not have to let outside forces (even something as important as the presidency) determine the course of our lives. We still can – and must – choose how we will respond, how we will cope, what we will do with our time and our energy.

Finally, #4. It’s going to be sunny and 64 degrees in northeast Ohio – a rare gift for November. I’m looking forward to a walk after work.

(Photo: Anne Peters White doing yoga; St. Pete’s Beach)