Nothing is actually wrong.

Can I share a few thoughts with you? Firstly, I'm no expert - broadly speaking, not an expert at all, in anything. Least of all when it comes to existence. I feel like I just sort of showed up here one day, out of nowhere, and I’ve been here ever since. Most of the time, I feel like I can manage, but every now and then, things can feel like a little bit too much. That’s when I need to take stock of what’s really going on, assess, and evaluate the circumstances. Is there actually anything going on? Am I on fire? Am I being pelted with cans of mixed vegetables? Am I just a little hungry? Most of the time, the reality is that I am fine. I am safe, I am not in any immediate danger, and while I may be a little hungry, that’s an easily solvable issue. So, if my outside reality is good, then why do I feel like there’s a problem? It must be an inside issue. I must be thinking of something that is causing me distress. Then I should just stop it, right? Just stop thinking about the thing that’s bothering me? Well, yeah, kind of! I know that’s sort of a trite breakdown of what it is to feel stress, but really, more often than not, stress really is our own doing. At least partly. We are choosing to give the thoughts that plague us the space in our minds. I am often reminded of the movie ‘Bridge Of Spies’. There are several scenes in the movie where the potential dire consequences of the protagonist's actions are laid out for him. Each time, he seems to merely accept what he's told with little change of facial expression or demeanor. He doesn't get angry, depressed, or reactive in any way. His handler can't make him out and keeps asking, "Aren't you concerned/worried/anxious?" Each time, he makes the same reply... "Would it help?"

To further expound on that concept, in a less cinematically inspired direction, this quote from Eckhart Tolle sums it up beautifully: ‘Worry and "what if" thoughts are projecting your mind into an imaginary future situation and creating fear. There is no way you can cope with it because it doesn't exist--it's a mental phantom. You can always cope with the now...you can never cope with the future.’ There is nowhere else but right now. If you are worrying, you are spending time outside of this moment. This concept is about as simple as is possible to break down. Now, peace; outside now, not peace. Again, slightly trite and reductive, but for me, I need it to be this simple to really understand it. To know it. To come back to it. ‘Now’, good. ‘Not now’, not good. Ok, I’ve taken enough of your time. Thank you for it. It’s valuable, and I am grateful you would share any of it with me.

sincerely,

daren