There is an island somewhere in the Caribbean that two countries have been hotly fighting over. There was diplomatic tension, ongoing threats of attack, etc.
Enter global warming and last month the island dropped into the sea.Gone...glub, glub, glub. No more dispute. Case closed.
That got me thinking about worry.
(Of course. Everything gets me thinking about worry.)
Specifically thinking about all the things I've worried about over the years that never happen at all. What's the saying? Worrying about tomorrow only sucks the joy from today.
So true.
A friend of mine is very, very popular. She's on numerous on-line groups, is active in clubs, well known and beloved everywhere she goes. Recently, her mother, a psychiatrist, mused, "You know, if I'd know how popular you would end up being, I wouldn't have worried so much about you being lonely in college."
That mother endured hours, months and years of needless worry. And she was a shrink, who, no doubt, knew better!
Meanwhile, the real troubles slam us out of left field. We're wringing our hands and sweating in the completely wrong direction.
That means that when I worry about whether my son will do well in college, find a good job, be loved his life long, or whether my first SuperRomance, A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS, coming in November, will sell well, or if my editor will love the one I'm working on right now as much, I'm simply poisoning many lovely days, weeks, months and years. Right?
Absolutely. Gotta stop that.
Maybe I'll worry about how much I worry for a while...
What pointless worries do you have? How do you banish them?
My advice is Bobby McFerrin's: Don't worry, be happy.
I double dog dare you.
Best,
Dawn Atkins
A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS, HQ SuperRomance, 11/10
