Hey there lovely readers!

I was in the shower this morning…which is where I get lots of my blog ideas (sorry for the visual). Anyhoo, I started thinking about my brain. And how sometimes it feels as though my brain is full. Its like it is filled with empty carbs. Its like I ate a loaf of french bread…but instead of french bread…I ate a bunch of thoughts.

Not just any thoughts…

…but, WORRIED thoughts.

Worried thoughts are like empty carbs of the mind.
Oh, maybe that would be a good bumper sticker! Hmmmmmm I will think about that later:)

When my brain fills up with worried thoughts, it can seem that I am busy doing something of importance. My brain is busy worrying if my son is eating well living on his own (probably not!) or if my other son is locking his apartment at night. Both worries…if stayed with long enough (a few minutes or less) will ultimately end in their deaths. Ethan will die because he is not eating healthy food and Corey will die because someone is going to go into his apartment and stab him. I know it! I just know it!

Or rather, that worried mind knows it. It can build a case for the most horrible of circumstances. And I am left feeling exhausted and stressed out. For what? I am left feeling as though I have had no mental nutrition. My mind feels full and thrashed…and so do I!

So, what is worrying all about anyway?

Are we born worriers?
Are we taught to be worriers?
Is it in our cellular structure?

Yes, Yes and Yes!

Worrying is part of a complicated inner defense strategy. It goes something like this:
Oh no! ____________ is freaking me out. What if ____________ happens and that will cause ______________ to happen and then ___________ will happen and then we will all die!!!!!!

We worry that something that isn’t happening, might happen and if that none existent thing that might happen happens…then something really bad will happen. And if that really bad non existent thing happens then someone will die….(fill in whatever the end result is that you worry will happen if this non existent thing happens).

Wow…that was a mouth full!

I have never met a human that doesn’t worry about something. Now some folks have worrying down to an art form whereas other folks just dabble in it once in awhile. I used to be the former…but, now I am more of a dabbler. Hmmmmmm I might be lying about that. Not sure. If I think about this long enough I am sure I can lead the possibility of my lying all the way to someone dying….yes, I am that good at this !

Anyway, worrying is a mind numbing waste of time.

I remember years ago, I worried about my boys eating sugar or watching certain cartoons…or whatever I could come up with. Now, I look back on all of those worries and just have to laugh. The worries are still there but now they are bigger and more grand.

Will the next girl break their hearts? Or will they be the ones to break someone else’s heart? Will they be safe with sex? Will they find their passions? Who will they find love with? What if they are afraid to make mistakes? What if I didn’t teach them well enough that there are NO mistakes? What if I didn’t do a good enough job? What if they don’t clean their bathrooms? What if they aren’t eating healthy? What if they don’t lock their doors at night?

The list can go on and on if I let it. All worries can go on and on if we let them. That is the thing about worry…its like a mental virus that expands quickly and takes over any healthy thriving thoughts that might have been hangin’ out.

What I know personally about worry is that even if some worries come true, we figure out how to handle things. We can always figure out a way. Wellbeing always is there if we want to find it.

When we move past the period of worry and we have some time to tap into the more broader perspective, we can see that there was no need to worry. That all was well, even if it wasn’t. The things that I worried about as a young adult, are gone. I see from my broader perspective that all was just fine. I remember worrying about money alot when I was in my early 20’s. I had two sons, I was a student and a single parent by the age of 25. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to pay my bills, or buy shoes when the boys needed them…or whatever. The amazing thing was that things always had a way of working out.

Now at 45 years old…when I catch myself worrying I do what I can to shift the thinking. Because I know when I am 90 years old and looking back at my 40’s, I will think: "Ah, I wish that I hadn’t worried myself so…because non of it really matters. All is well even when its not!"