“What me, worry?”

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

Once as a junior high friend’s mother was driving my friend and me to a Saturday movie, her car began to make a terrible knocking noise.  My immediate reaction was to start thinking “What is the problem?  Is it expensive to fix?  Will we be able to make it to our movie?”  Had my mother been driving I can imagine the pinched worried expression that would have appeared on her face.  My friend’s mother simply smiled and said “Well, isn’t this interesting?”  I was stunned.  She just calmly drove to a nearby auto mechanic business.  I have no idea whether we made it to the movie or not.  I suspect we did.  But what has stayed with me was that calm, unperturbed response of my friend’s mother. 

Sometimes in the night I wake to find myself feeling the heartbreak of the world and a sense of despair sweeping over me.  I think of Wendell Berry’s  poem “The Peace of Wild Things” (“When despair of the world grows in me/and I wake at the least sound/in fear of what my life and my children’s lives/might be”).  There is so much beyond my control.  Berry’s solution is to ground himself in nature, which surely is one way to renew ourselves, to maintain our equilibrium.  There are other ways to take care of ourselves.  We all know them but it never hurts to be reminded:  hydrate, seek to eat nutritious foods, meditate, exercise, promote good sleep habits, and look for those things that you can do in your own life circumstances.  Find what energizes you, a charitable organization you can offer your services or donate to; practice random acts of kindness; seek the means that empower you. 

The alternative is less than desirable.  While there is plenty to keep us awake at night, we have the choice not to allow the worry to be in the driver’s seat.  The potential consequences of permitting anxiety to be in charge are many: suppression of immune system, digestive disorders, muscle tension, short-term memory loss, premature coronary artery disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, increased risk of heart attack or stroke, and other results like disrupted work, strained relationships, decreased functioning in daily life. 

Here’s a bit of wisdom, followed by a challenge:

 “If worrying about the future made life better maybe I could see the point.  But all it does is make today worse.” 

“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”

The invitation is open to share two cups of tea anytime at Hope’s Café or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we bearers of hope, the “wait staff” at Hope’s Café, for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate