Day 25: Who worries?

RedI am not a worrywart. I do not worry in the traditional sense of agonizing over the potential outcomes.

My life philosophy makes me sound smug or uncaring. I do not worry. If things do not turn out the expected way, I have merely learned (again) what not to do.

On the non-traditional side, I do something which can be considered worry. It is being disappointed or anxious about inevitable outcomes when I have not the power to change the forces in motion. We have touched on some of them:

  • Deplorable attitude toward education
  • Lack of integrious parenting
  • Fear stemming from no understanding of disorders
  • Absence of historical reference in the everyday life
  • Meaninglessness of relationships in the face of digital life

These are some of the things which plague Mantra’s strike times. I recognize I have done as much as I am able to change these things in the lives of those nearest me.

I have intervened, and continue to intervene, in the lives of my children. An inordinate amount of time is spent trying to break the blinders off those in my immediate sphere. The word counters fill up with my attempts to get books into the hands of readers which will make a difference in their lives. I am faithful to the M3 Readers.

So, how does this translate to worry?”

I worry about whether I am going about it in the correct fashion. I wonder if it would not be better to recruit rather than merely elucidate. Occasionally, I wonder why I bother. For every person who finds some light in what I say, there are four pairs of eyes staring blankly back, who walk away back to the quagmire to trudge in the same circle for another (day, year, lifetime).

My embattled inner optimist tells me the ones I reach will help make the next generation more than vacuous click-monkeys. The pragmatic devil on my shoulder tells me the enlightened will be an endangered species before I am cold on the research slab.


Are you a worrywart? What do you worry about? Can you shrug off worry? Are you up to taking the challenge?

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38 Comments

  1. Hi Red… excellent and thought provoking post!
    There are a couple of kinds of worriers – the chronic worriers, the ones who say “what if…?” and analyze every scenario to death. I know a few who do this, ALWAYS in the pessimistic direction, ALWAYS fretting aloud, almost always about things related only to to themselves. (“Why has my heart rate just increased? Am I having a heart attack? etc, etc, etc)
    Another sort, is like the one I hear you speak of yourself as (and how I consider myself) – always alert/aware in case there IS something I can do to correct or have a positive affect on the situation.
    I too, have an immortal optimist, good on the one hand for finding solutions, not so much on the other hand, for never giving myself permission to indulge myself once in a while.
    Recently, I mentioned my frustration that when a terrible situation is identified or clarified (eg the state of education in USA; inequity of divorce/family courts to make decisions based on truth/facts, rather than assumptions/prejudices, etc. My frustration is that I do not have solutions to these problems, so what’s the point of continuing the “whine” session by adding my perspective? I was reminded that my duty is to do what I can. So I add to the interactions in the not so vain hope that my perspective and audience may in fact contain something/someone who IS, in fact the very person to take actions to change.
    That was a relief to me, so my worry quotient decreased immensely. The image of myself as a cog in the wheel of change is satisfying. To the point where I am released to take action when it is my turn.
    At the very least, it is an exercise in expression, which can only help the end goal, which is change for the better (as I see it).
    Thank you for the opportunity to do that so often in your posts! As well, the intelligence with which you speak, which encourages me to realize there are like minded or at least other critical and ethical thinkers out there. I am not a voice alone. Neither are you!
    many hugs

    πŸ™‚
    damn… even as I typed, the avatars took over again, right before my eyes, enlarging themselves again. Such is the life of a cyber warrior.
    BuddhaKat recently posted..For a Fistful of Fractals…My Profile

    Reply
    • LOL! Still have no idea what makes them do that on any platform but mobile. The frames on the web are stable. Ugh. Gravatar.

      No, you are not alone. Open discourse is the chance to educate and elucidate. xxx

      Reply
  2. I am most definitely not a worrywart. Adversity is designed (in my DNA anyway) to be shrugged off, ignored or challenged, with not a care of failure. Brave words eh!! Seriously though, I worry about lots of things, especially when the mind is racing for no reason. I do have the ability to sort these into small to big worries and can relegate the small to the trash. The big, I attack with logic and defeat some of them, leaving only the ones that affect me on a personal level. Sorry I missed the start of these, crazy month dealing with one of those big worries. Looks like it could have been fun to participate.
    John Phillips recently posted..Song Of The Day – Michael Franti and Spearhead – The Sound Of SunshineMy Profile

    Reply
    • Good to see you, John. When you have a moment to peruse, hover on the Green Room (You did leave a link there, right?) and click on the 30 Day page. You can see all the topics and if anything interests you. You are more than welcome to pick it up. So far, not many are following the post-a-day rules, but it is no less fun if you interpret it as you go along.

      Reply
  3. I used to think I don’t worry much, especially since I retired. Moving in with my kids has settled a whole new worm can of worry. I’m only half-sure if we were living apart, the stress would be 50% less.

    Glad to hear some of us knows how to handle herself better, Red.
    tess kann recently posted..Plan A, B, and CMy Profile

    Reply
    • I have to at least half believe I have my poop in a group; otherwise, it would be everywhere. πŸ˜› xxx

      Reply
  4. There will always be those that do not take in the fine examples that you offer here at M3, the one’s that are only reading in between the lines, not concentrating or even reading the whole posting, it is those individuals that are missing out on your wealth of wisdom, and in a world where everyone needs to be pulling together, they will be left behind.

    Sometimes we can lead the horse to the water but making it drink is an entirely different scenario, your postings are rich with enthusiasm and this is one of the many things that I enjoy when I visit your Space πŸ™‚

    Have a truly wonderful start to your Monday Red, you do make a big difference in peoples lives and I for one thank you for your precious time and wondrously creative and caring passion.

    Andro xxxx

    Reply
    • You know what I have discovered? If you hold their heads beneath the water, they get just as quiet. *grins* The real shame is those who are not listening are most often the ones who would benefit the most from what I have to say. Perhaps one day, eh?

      Reply
      • That reminds me of a joke,
        and it goes something like this…

        “How do you stop a Zombie from drowning?”
        Take your foot off it’s head πŸ™‚ lol
        Okay. I know, too corny for words πŸ™‚

        Andro xxxx

        Reply
  5. I don’t tend to worry about little stuff. I got a pretty good life in my opinion so I shouldn’t complain
    Bearman recently posted..How the Environmentalists Screwed UsMy Profile

    Reply
    • Me, too, which is why I try really hard not to complain. So far, I am not so sure I am successful at it.

      Reply
  6. I worry, I do. Not excessively… or maybe yes excessively as I do contemplate long times.

    Enjoyed this one, Red πŸ™‚
    Noeleen recently posted..I’m Polish-Irish Aussie & can drink to the death!My Profile

    Reply
    • I am glad you did. πŸ˜‰ Here’s hoping you begin finding your answers soon enough for it not to be worry.

      Reply
  7. benzeknees

     /  May 29, 2013

    I suffer from panic disorder & anxiety disorder as well as chronic depression, so I’d have to say YES I worry. I don’t really worry about anything in particular for all that long. Even though I have finally succumbed to medication after many years of trying to cope without, I am just generally anxious. I could give you a whole host of reasons I think I’m anxious but I think the most understandable one is I grew up in a home with mostly caring parents who sometimes exploded with anger which led to beatings. My childhood home never felt safe, so I grew anxious about what I could do to keep the explosions from happening. And because I had a soft soul, when I was doing everything on my part I worried about my defiant younger sister because I could not stand to hear her getting beaten.
    To answer your question, I think you can keep doing what you’re doing. You are effecting people every day. Every time you add a new follower, your influence spreads even further because if they appreciate you they will spread your message.

    Reply
    • I have had more than my fair share of trauma and two massive bouts with PTSD (although my doctor likes the number four better). I cannot commit to worry. I can commit to preparation for the inevitable and the probable. I simply cannot drag myself to worry over the minutiae or the possible.

      I would hope there would be more who would like to hear what I have to say. Time and my book sales will tell. πŸ˜‰

      Reply

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