When fear and worry and anxiety (aren’t they the same thing?) about what might happen next week, next month…tomorrow….set in, I am reminded to stay 100% present in this moment, right now. When I am busy and doing something it’s easier, because I can focus on the task at hand. It’s those moments between tasks or at night before I go to sleep that my mind can take a detour. It happens fast, and when my thoughts drift forward to unkown territory, my emotions jump on board pretty quickly. I have found that if I can stop that train long enough to begin to think of things I am grateful for TODAY, the future slips back to where it belongs. Something else that helps during the day is to look outside my own experience of the situation and remember that the other people involved are going through their own set of fears as well. What can I do or say to comfort or encourage them?

My sister has a wonderful way of making you feel like you are the only person that matters when you are talking to her. She isn’t checking her phone, or inbox or anything else; her focus is entirely on the person talking to her and she is really listening and asking questions. (I am sure her kids are not as enamored with this quality as I am). She is 100% present.

^“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34.