Worry erodes happiness. Many of our worries are baseless, only serving the purpose of stealing from you energy and time that could be spent enjoying your life.
My mother was a worrier, and she passed that trait along to me. Fortunately, I rebelled a bit and never became the worrier she was. Plus, the older I grow, the more I realize worrying adds nothing to our lives—and even harms us.
Worrying about something does not keep it from happening. In fact, it may even cause it to happen. We draw to us that which we put our energy into. If we put our energy (our thoughts and emotion) into worrying about not having enough money, for example, we most likely will continue to experience lack. But if we put our energy into gratitude for what we do have and give a rousing thanks for the money to buy this or that, we have a much better chance of drawing prosperity to us.
Yes, you say, I understand this, but I’m not worried about money. I’m worried about my kids. Are they going to catch the flu at school? Are they going to get into a car wreck when they are out with friends? Are they going to be happy? Okay, Mom and Dad, now tell me just what good your worrying is doing. Seriously. Is it keeping the kids healthy and safe? Is your worrying going to make them more successful or better citizens? Is it going to make them happier? No, no, and no.
Worrying does not add to your life. Period. You cannot stop the storm from coming, and all that worrying will do is eat up your stomach and use energy you need to be properly prepared for when—or if— the storm hits.
To slow down and even stop worrying, create a worry jar. Here’s how—
On a piece of paper, write down the problem you are worried about. Fold the paper in half and fold it in half again. Put the paper into a jar. Use a jar with a screw top or a cork top. As you put the paper into the jar and screw or push down the lid, say a prayer to your Divine Source, giving the problem over to Source for three days.
During these three days, every time you think about the problem, say a prayer of thanks that the higher power of your Divine Source is taking care of the problem for you. Also, during these three days, listen to the small inner whispers that guide you to any answers you seek to what you were worried about.
At the end of the three days, open the jar and read what you wrote. You may find the problem has disappeared. If not, you have three choices. 1.) You can return the problem to the worry jar and forget about it; 2.) You can decide that you are more powerful than Divine Source and take back the problem; 3.) Or you can rewrite the phrasing of the problem and return it to your worry jar with a renewed prayer.
The idea behind the worry jar is that you are not alone in this world. We all have help that comes through from people in our lives, people we meet, from angels, God, Spirit Guides, Divine Wisdom— ways that seem magical in how everything just seems to happen once we get out of our own way. All of these are help from your deeper spirit self that is part of the All, the Divine Source.
All you need to do is to ask for help, and then let go of the problem and listen for guidance. It’s simply getting out of our own way.