Escaping Worry-Ville

Have you ever noticed we tend to live life just inside the city limits of worry? We inevitably bypass the country road detour of serene, calm and still choosing instead to floor the apprehension peddle before idling at the intersection of pain and panic heading on to the highway of uneasy.  We have even been known to turn down the side streets of distraught and concern, drive over the Bridge of Fright, while traveling to the worrisome, nervous city hall of Worry-Ville just to be sure our license for Alarm, Fear, Fright, Dread, Dismay, Hysteria and Anxiety have not expired! 

The peaceful outskirts of town always seem within reach but never quite within walking distance.  We sit, lie on the grass, look through magazines dreaming of what life could be away from the anxious, vexed life we feel we have. How fabulous it would be if we could live inside our day dreams, what if we could move to the auspicious, cheery suburbs, putting in a pool of serenity, a garden of hope. ( Of course as long as it’s just far enough away from worry and her consorts but still close enough to get into our idling vehicle fueled by fear and head back into Worry-Ville right?) Are you feeling flabbergasted yet? What about out of breath, is your head spinning from my worrisome descriptions? Are you contemplating whether to make a dash for the door right now? Maybe you are feeling the pressure building up, ready to pop like pop corn inside your head? Possibly thinking on a serious note about the whole do not walk, but run option? Perhaps nervous tension and constant worry feel as if they own stock in your life?

Come on friends, if we are not fretting over money, we are uptight about our neighbors, maybe it’s the way their yard looks, or possibly you are concerned about your health, the new cough taking up residence in your lungs, refusing to pack her bags and scat! Whatever the reason for living inside or just outside of this daunting place we have put roots down, made it our home, a way of life and altering our routine is not on the schedule! OK, I don’t know about you, but I’m done with Worry-Ville! I’m tired of being sick and tired, of panicking over the finances, if my style  are up to date ( believe it never is!), if I’m keeping up with the Jones’ or simply if I am in good graces with the Worry-Ville city council because I’m attending Worry-free Anonymous meetings inside Worry-Ville city limits! Life is too short to let worry, fret and fear get the best of us. Now the truth is sometimes, there doesn’t seem to be any other options available, our bags may be packed, but they aren’t moving. The reality is if we can step back, hand the keys over to our worry infested homes and walk towards the outskirts of town without our self packed baggage life wouldn’t seem so stressful. We may even have the chance to check out some new scenery, catch a glimpse of hope in bloom and find a new residence other than Worry-Ville.

The thing about living our lives wound up so tightly, wrapped up in worry, is we lose sight of the blessings life has to offer us on a daily basis; we can’t see the beauty in the journey. Our day to day mileage begins to add up, and the only thing we seem to see from the driver’s seat is an endless highway of clutter on the road to nowhere.  Unfortunately we get all caught up in our computers, schedules, sports, jobs and school work that we forget to breathe, to relax and enjoy the ones we love. Life is not meant to be packed full, over scheduled to the point we don’t know if we are coming or going.

If breast cancer taught me anything it is to stop living life in a stress zone! Believe me this particular lesson came front and center, with a big wallop on the back of the head, like it or not. A major road block was put up against my protests, I think she even bulldozed my home at some point and sent me on my way into the suburbs away from this crazy place of worry we all reside in from time to time. I can guarantee you she may not have been on my personal docket but she sure pushed her way to the front didn’t she? Now the truth is I do hop into my fear fueled Worry-Ville minivan occasionally but on a daily basis I try to walk in the worry free zone, sharing my love of life and my no worries attitude with anyone exiting the Worry-Ville limits. Personally I say who cares about yard of the month or running out to get your hands on the newest I-something-or-other. Life is too short, grab it by the horns and climb on its back, take a ride across the great plains of adventure and declare the boundaries of your new life a worry free zone!

~Christina