November 7, 2020

Worry, worry, worry! Everyone is worried about something … Poor people worry about where their next meal will come from, unemployed worry about when they would get their opportunity, whereas rich people are worrying about how to make more money and wealth and how to minimize their losses in current adverse conditions!

The Buddha told us, “Don’t Worry. Be Present”. One of the teachings of Buddha is that: The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but instead to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

The Bible in Proverbs 12:25 says, “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad”. 1 Peter 5:7 says “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Jesus Says in Matthew 6:25-34, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can anyone of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

Isn’t it easy to say, “Do not worry” but very difficult not to worry!

We are all humans after all and worrying and anxiety is human’s nature. But certainly we can minimize our worries! Surely we all know by worrying we can’t change anything!

Therefore let’s look at how to reduce our worries:

Each and every one of us has gone through some or other lows in life, maybe we have had terminal illness, or an accident, or unemployed for a long time, or a terrible financial loss, or loss of a close family member, or a family trouble, or a very poor childhood, it could be anything! And most of us have victoriously come out from such rough phases of our life. Let’s remind ourselves how we survived such situations and these memories will give us hope that the current COVID19 pandemic & its long drawn effects will pass by faster than we anticipate!

Some of us will remember how our prayers or meditation or fasting brought us out from our adverse conditions. Therefore let’s remind ourselves and develop deep spirituality through meditation, prayers and fasting. These spiritual tools will help us to reduce our worries and increase our hope for a better future.

Some of us have a deep sense of generosity, sharing and caring and let’s continue to do these good works in this hour of great chaos in the world. Let’s reach out according to our abilities and inspirations to the less fortunate and vulnerable and our good works will surely bring us out from current unprecedented times and will raise our hope for a better world and future.

Most importantly let’s remember we had no control on our birth and we have no control on our death, therefore let’s trust in God who is in control of everything and at the right time (God’s time) we will come out from our current adversaries. Therefore let’s be patient with one another and with the current situation, and our calmness together with our hundred percent efforts in whatever little we are doing will give us strength and courage to lessen our worries and to visualize a bright future post COVID19.

Let’s remember we are born into this world to live a joyous life, glorifying God in all circumstances and let’s do what we can to stay calm and live in the present.