Do you live with anxiety?
Does your mind continue to play the tape of echoes that spill from the missteps of your past and the projected fears of the future?
The fear that gripped our younger self, as well as our ancestors, bites at our insides. New fears emerge on a daily basis. So many of us, myself included, live with anxiety. It is hard to describe anxiety because it can be a dull discomfort that lingers and then jabs you when you least expect it. It can act as a thief trying to steal your joy or a manipulative device - if you suffer from O.C.D. (These are major topics and if your situation is severe, please seek out a professional.)
If you have a low level, yet daily, helping of anxiety, you probably endure in spite of it.
So many of us do. We pursue through the discomfort. We continue to climb the ladder that we’ve chosen to rise. I am in awe of those that persevere this journey with grace. Their mind may be screaming at them, yet they rise up.
What qualities do these individuals share? What makes them successful on their mental journey?
I think that these people do two key things. First, they accept what is going on. They do not fight the inner discomfort, rather they endure in spite of it. Second, they do not feel entitlement. One who feels that they do not deserve pain is not thinking rationally. Being human involves pain. (It also involves feeling joy as well!)
The art of self awareness is a major component in this ability to succeed despite one’s inner pain or discomfort. When one can accept the current state of their psyche, self love is the result. One doesn’t require perfection to emerge as their true self.
I wrote this poem on the art of self acceptance. Oddly enough, the act of accepting exactly where you are can propel you forward. It can ease the dull pain of anxiety because you see today as it really is. You think in rational terms rather than anxiety induced irrational thinking.
***
“take a moment”
you’ve been working on the inner
for quite some time.
it has taken you this long
to get exactly where you are at,
appreciate how far you’ve come.
revel in your experiences.
rest in your energy
and feel its authenticity.
you have worked hard to get here.
allow the future to excite you.
there are endless possibilities
when you believe in yourself.