The Anticipation Of . . . Nothing!

It’s normal to worry.  It’s normal to plan for and prepare an eventuality.

 

Yesterday, we had reports of a large snow storm headed our way.  Like most everyone in our area, Kim and I drove to our grocery store and stocked up “just in case.”  We didn’t want to be caught short or caught without.  We filled up the cars with gas.  Kim drove to her school to pick up papers she needed in order to complete her grades “just in case.”  Emily studied “just in case” we did have school and she had to write her midyear exams.

 

“Just in case.” 

 

School was called off last night “just in case” it would get bad.  When we woke up, there wasn’t any snow on the ground.  None in the air.  The temperatures weren’t unbearable.  Now I say this as a former Wisconsinite who braved feet of snow and icy temperatures and who attended school with both in the forecast and on the ground.  Yet, it wasn’t until 10:30 AM when the first flurries fell.  Flurries, not snow.

 

“Just in case.”

 

As the day wore on, it got nastier.  Icy roads.  Wind.  Temperatures dropped.  Good call to close school.  It would have been tough for student drivers to get home.  Maybe tougher for buses on the back roads.

 

All of this planning and all of this preparation “just in case” made me think . . .

 

It is good to plan and prepare ahead.  To make sure everything is in order for an eventuality.  We need to protect ourselves and protect our loved ones.  Planning and preparation is necessary.

 

What isn’t necessary, however, is worry.  What isn’t necessary, and what can be harmful and hurtful to yourself and others is the stress that results from worry.  

 

We can’t control weather.  Sometimes . . . most times . . . we can’t control people, their actions, their reactions, and certainly not their feelings or emotions.  Best we can do is plan and prepare and take care of ourselves . . . our own feelings, our own actions, our own reactions. 

 

How many times do we plan and prepare in The Anticipation Of . . . only to find that we planned and prepared for Nothing?  We stressed.  We worried.  We fretted quietly, silently, and sometimes even loudly only for our worry, our planning, our preparation to result in Nothing.  We get ourselves worked up over Nothing at all. 

 

Sometimes it might be best to plan, to prepare, and then take a step back, take a breath, relax, and then let whatever happen knowing that we cannot control it all anyway.  For your own health . . . physical, mental and emotional.  And just as importantly, for the health of those who are near you, who you love and who love you.  Something to think about . . .

 

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!