On the Futility of Stressing
Don't you just hate it when you lose something and a helpful friend or family member asks, "Well, where did you leave it?" Duh! If I knew where I'd left it, I'd go right there and retrieve it!
My mother had an alternative to frantic searching. She would calmly say, "It will turn up." "Turning up" seems to suggest that the lost object had a will of its own, and just would keep staying hidden until it finally decided to let itself be found. The truth is, she understood that frenzied rummaging around sometimes distracts us from the thoughtful consideration that might lead us to discovery. Sure enough, usually whatever I was trying to find did eventually surface, sometimes even in a place where I had already looked.
There just are not very many things in our ordinary lives that are improved by going into panic mode. Some things do require quick action: a fire, a personal threat, a close call on the road. And some things require deliberation: an impending decision, a weighty responsibility. But in none of these is panic useful. The ability to rise to a challenge or to take advantage of an opportunity does not come from fear, but from trust. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (II Timothy 1:7 King James Version) Just as agitated searching may hinder rather help, so unsteady thinking may keep us from the very understanding we desire.
Few situations—regardless of how desperate they make us feel—are improved by our "going bananas." Mama knew that.
MaryMartha
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