When I feel the million thoughts and worries start to collide in my mind and anxiety makes my muscles tighten, there’s a place I can go to let the chaos simmer and settle.
Listen.
Be still and know that I am God.
The palace in time is filled with sound, the first of which is your own heartbeat and breath, both running without your galloping mind. Then, from there, hear the whirr of the air conditioner or fan in the other room, the flick of a sheet of paper lifted in the wind, the stretch and groan of the dog at your feet, the muted chirps of the sparrow and robin and cardinal just beyond the pane of glass in your window.
Take a moment to step outside and make the wild world more accessible. The wind is lifting the maple leaves and moving the pine needles in a shush like the wash of water on a seashore.
Somewhere, someone is at war with their lawn again, watering their drought-stricken grass so it will grow so they can cut it and then water it so it can grow again.
Somewhere, someone is revving an engine in a hurry to get to their next paycheck.
But here, right now, you are present to the world. When you’re present to the world around you, the worries and anxiety whirlwind no longer has power. You couldn’t do anything about all of those worries for tomorrow, anyway. You can only do what you can do today, and today, you will make a meal, you will take a walk, you will pay the bills you can pay, you will do the work that is available to you to do. You will listen and root yourself in the present moment, tackle the present challenge, and surrender the worries of the future to tomorrow.
You will listen and hear the complaints and concerns and laughter of the people in your life. Instead of waiting for the next moment to interject your own complaint or concern for tomorrow, be present to the sound of their voice, the look in their eyes, the way they have trusted you with their thoughts. Hold those hopes and anxieties with compassion. Be here, now. When the mind is filled with the sound of those we love, it doesn’t bother latching onto the anxieties of tomorrow.
Let the sounds of the humming and running world root you in this moment. The whirring and stirring is in vain anyway. Everything is running, and you have very little to do with it. The world is going to keep on. Just listen. Be still. Inhabit the space made available to you, here, this vast hall of sound, and listen for the still small voice that calls to you. Dear one, I love you with an everlasting love. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Consider the birds of the air. Consider the lilies of the field. Seek first my kingdom and my righteousness. Everything else you need is already yours.
Listen and settle into peace.
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