From where is anxiety born? As an anxious person myself, I’ve pondered this question for decades.
*sigh* I can’t say I’ve figured anything out.
So, the approach I’ve taken thus far has been to “be in right relationship” with my anxiety. To me that’s looked like sitting with my anxiety until I’m drowning in it, then like the Bene Gesserit, it washes over and through me, until only I remain.
Sounds poetic, but it’s been, admittedly, a difficult practice… oft times causing more anxiety.
When the sagacious Epictetus saw an anxious person, he wondered, “... what do they want? For if a person wasn’t wanting something outside of their own control, why would they be stricken by anxiety?” (Discourses, 2.13.1)
Ryan Holiday puts it like this: “It’s as if we all belong to a religious cult that believes the gods of fate will only give us what we want if we (offer) our peace of mind.” (The Daily Stoic, p. 43)
That’s some hard-core, human-condition stuff right there.
Sit with that: we offer our peace of mind to have… peace… of… mind? Huh??
Barring any deep psychological trauma, or chemical imbalances, let’s try engaging our anxiety together. When it arises, we ask ourselves who is in control… us, or our anxiety?
… and if our anxiety is in control, we must then ask:
Is this doing us any good?
(See y’all tomorrow)
*sigh* I can’t say I’ve figured anything out.
So, the approach I’ve taken thus far has been to “be in right relationship” with my anxiety. To me that’s looked like sitting with my anxiety until I’m drowning in it, then like the Bene Gesserit, it washes over and through me, until only I remain.
Sounds poetic, but it’s been, admittedly, a difficult practice… oft times causing more anxiety.
When the sagacious Epictetus saw an anxious person, he wondered, “... what do they want? For if a person wasn’t wanting something outside of their own control, why would they be stricken by anxiety?” (Discourses, 2.13.1)
Ryan Holiday puts it like this: “It’s as if we all belong to a religious cult that believes the gods of fate will only give us what we want if we (offer) our peace of mind.” (The Daily Stoic, p. 43)
That’s some hard-core, human-condition stuff right there.
Sit with that: we offer our peace of mind to have… peace… of… mind? Huh??
Barring any deep psychological trauma, or chemical imbalances, let’s try engaging our anxiety together. When it arises, we ask ourselves who is in control… us, or our anxiety?
… and if our anxiety is in control, we must then ask:
Is this doing us any good?
(See y’all tomorrow)
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