Humpday Happenings...
Whenever you would find yourself knee-deep in problems, there used to always be someone who came along (probably one of your parents, or at least a relative) and had some words of encouragement, to help you along your way.
There used to be one, specific phrase I would hear more than any other, and that was:
"The Good Lord never gives you more than you can handle".
To which I would reply:
"He must think I can handle a helluva lot, then".
Apparently he DOES, and apparently I CAN.
Then again, that was the 1960s...
Today, it all seems a little more "complex".
Yesterday, I mentioned our fretting over everything in our lives from school supplies for the kids to mortgage payments, and everything (regarding our households) in between.
Now, I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that WORRY can be a killer.
I've seen people worry themselves into an early grave, and seen others devastated into heart conditions or strokes.
That's NOT to say we shouldn't worry (at all) in order to remain alive.
We NEED to worry...from time time.
It's good for our psyche...AND our peace of mind.
But let's back up a bit...perhaps "worry" is TOO strong a word. In many cases, CONCERN is a much better description of what we REALLY feel in situations.
There IS a difference between the two.
It's GOOD to be "concerned" about our lives, our kids, our finances, and other issues which will directly, or even indirectly have some sort of impact on us. Concern is what keeps us "on our toes".
For example, that driver swerving up ahead is cause for CONCERN, but I won't let it escalate into WORRY, simply because that would take MY attention from the road, thereby causing even MORE concern.
I try NOT to worry. I really do.
I'd much rather be "concerned" about things, than worried.
There's one very good reason for that:
CONCERN causes ACTION....WORRY causes INACTION.
Better to be "on the move", doing something to alleviate that concern you might have, rather than hunker down, pull some real estate over your head and worry yourself to death.
Any one who's been in ANY sort of combat situation will tell you that MOVEMENT IS LIFE.
I said this a few times here.
If you're MOVING (doing something), you're staying ALIVE.
If you're NOT MOVING, you're only someone else's target!
As is true in combat, so it is also true in life itself.
Concern motivates us to do something. If we're concerned about Johhny's or Susie's grades, we get to work doing SOMETHING about it (whatever that may be). If we're concerned about that noise under the hood of the car, we don't just turn UP the radio...we set about getting that noise FIXED, lest we find ourselves WALKING in the rain some dark and gloomy night, due to our inattention to that problem.
But you have to be careful a lot of the time...
There is a VERY THIN LINE between "concern" and "worry".
And we often use the word WORRY in place of CONCERN.
We say we're worried about Bill....he's been ill recently, when we SHOULD really be saying we're concerned for Bill.
It's an easy enough mistake, and Lord knows I'm just as guilty of doing this as is everyone else.
I suppose it all comes down to a matter of DEGREES. Concern will grow into worry, as anger will grow into hate.
Now, I said all that to say this...
There are a lot of times when I get downright TIRED of being "concerned" about so many things.
And you probably are the same way.
Used to be a poem that said "...rest if you want, but never quit". Sounds about right to me.
For once, you'd just like to see some of the things that have you concerned pack up and "head out of Dodge".
We've got all these "local" issues (by local, I mean around the house and immediate area) to deal with, and hopefully, we've got some plan to tackle them. But while we're bust doing THAT, we also have all these LARGER issues that involve us as well (such as what the government is planning for all of us).
Now, each of us is only ONE PERSON, and, like our folks told us: "God only gives you what HE knows you can handle".
Okay, enough with that already. I can't handle ALL this crap flying at me at once. (or can I?)
Yeah, it'd be nice to have an assist on this, wouldn't it?
As I'm fond of saying: "A JOY shared is TWICE a joy; a SORROW shared is HALF a sorrow".
So, hey, God...lemme "share" my sorrow, kapeesh?
I need a break over here...LOL!
It's not WRONG to be concerned, especially about things for which you have a passion for.
It's when that concern develops in constant worrying about whatever it was that concerned you in the first place, that things get a bit "dicey". Then it becomes all too easy to get sidetracked from matters that deserve your immediate attention.
Be nice to have one of those "EASY" buttons for this, hmm?
Few things in life are meant to be "easy", and with good reason.
If everything was EASY, then we would have NO sense of accomplishment. We would never appreciate that which we struggle for. And, as a result, we would never strive to achieve more, or to become more, as a person. If we have things handed to us, where is the sense of achievement, anyway?
Now maybe THAT mindset works damn well in an inner city ghetto, but for the rest of us, that leads to "Nowheresville".
We might not like being concerned about things, but we DO need to be concerned.
There is no EASY button for us to push, save for doing something about our concerns, and then moving on with life.
In THAT, we can take solace, knowing we do what we HAVE to do, and not because it's easy, but because it's difficult (as JFK once said)...and because it's just the right damn thing to do.
So, stay concerned, and...
Stay safe out there, America.