I checked out Brian McLaren's latest, We Make the Road by Walking. I haven't had time to read it all, but the chapter on anxiety grabbed me. He talks about all the ways anxiety can be toxic.
Some of those ways are obvious. We worry so much about the bad stuff that may happen that we can't enjoy the good stuff.
He also talks about the ways that anxiety is toxic for societies as we create pecking orders to keep our fears at bay. And on a geopolitical level, we create enemies--and when we create enemies on this level, can war be far behind?
Of course, we can only really control ourselves. McLaren offers a mantra for those of us who are rattled by our anxieties:
"My own anxiety is more dangerous than whatever I am anxious about. My own habit of condemning is more dangerous to me than what I condemn in others. My misery is unnecessary because I am truly, truly, truly loved."
May we always remember!
but bestows favor on the humble
1 year ago
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