First, just pause for a minute. Take a deep breath. Now, just relax. Just calm down, imagine a field of flowers if you must, and just enjoy the moment (we’ll come back to this later in the post).

Sometimes we get so caught up in everything that’s going on in life that we stress ourselves out. I find myself doing this too. My mind goes from one thought to the other, in every direction, without pause, and without care. If I allow myself to, I can even create worries in my mind that haven’t even happened…and I can make present worries worse by dwelling on them and making them even bigger.

Let’s face it; life can be stressful all by itself. It does not need our assistance. It comes with its own set of daily issues that we must face. That’s reality for every single person on this massive earth regardless of who that person is. So, before you get yourself trapped in that deep depressing realm of—“Woe is me. My life is so messed up. Everything good is happening for everyone else, and I’m the only one going through this….” stop yourself. You’re not in this world alone. You’re not the only one with problems. Every day, every single person is faced with some sort of problem. Yes, some people’s problems are worse than others…that is true. However, that does not give you an excuse to bury yourself in some hopeless pit of despair. Why? Since when has a hopeless pit of despair solved anyone’s problems? I’m telling you right now, if you bury yourself and isolate yourself in this pit, you’re going to destroy yourself there.

We all worry to a certain extent, but all worry does is cause a problem to grow in your mind. Worry stacks fear on top of disappointment and begins to add doubt, hopelessness, depression, anxiety, and all forms of negativity until it creates this huge mountain of heartache. The more you try to mentally climb that mountain, the more emotionally and physically tired you become. You begin to lose your will power to go on.

Sometimes you just have to let go. Not every battle is meant to be fought. You cannot control every situation. I am reminded of what Reinhold Niebuhr said in “The Serenity Prayer,” “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”* You have to have the Faith, the Courage, and the Determination to do all that you can do in a situation, and after that…you have to know when to just let it go. It doesn’t mean to just give up. Giving up is when you stop short of doing everything you can do in a situation, and you don’t accomplish all of the things that you do have control over. But there are times in life when we stress ourselves out over situations we don’t have any control over. We feel helpless, we don’t know what to do, and we become afraid. “Let it go” means…don’t let that situation have so much power over you to where it controls you mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and affects you negatively in all of these areas. You have to know when to just back away from a situation mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and even physically if you have to—before it gets the best of you.

Always remember that Hope is always present. Even in the darkest of situations where everything just goes completely wrong, and you may feel all alone…you’re not alone, and Hope is still there. Hope will always be there as long as you’re alive, because you will always have a purpose…you just have to believe.

So, pause. Take a deep breath. Now, just relax. Just calm down, imagine a field of flowers if you must, and just enjoy the moment. You’re going to be just fine.

Brief Reference: (*)This quotation is from “The Serenity Prayer” which is a poem written by Reinhold Neibuhr and is only in abbreviated form.