Freedom From Stress and Worry

When we feel under pressure or stressed out, we tend to compartmentalize the issues. We categorize the event, the problem, or how we are seeing it and then justify our behavior. Life is not about obstacles or about seeing what needs to be done. We live our lives in constant awareness of the next thing, of always looking forward to what is coming next. This is not life; this is being afraid and trying to manage it. Stress is an overreaction to what you have decided you are either afraid of or what you need to control.
Control is a big issue, just as fear is, and it tends to overrun our lives in so many ways. We look at life as something to be gotten over with, an obstacle to be tackled, as an event to be taken care of. It is no wonder we live in a state of fear, stress, and worry. If this is all life is then why fight it, why struggle, because we believe, we hope that when we make it through the next hurdle it will stop, then we can take a break and become what we are in a relaxed state. But if we perceive the world as such, then we are always creating an obstacle and the last hurdle will never be breached. Do you see the pattern, how it is possible for it to never end? The perception starts at the beginning and it doesn’t end. It is how we look at life that keeps this going. Of course there will always be things that may feel harder or moments that exist that may challenge us, but it is our perception that creates the struggle, not how we exist within it.
Every moment carries the possibility of freedom, of existing without struggle, no matter where you are or what is happening. There is freedom from stress, from worry, and from always trying. It comes from first seeing the moment for what it is, clearly, without thought for the next thing or anything about the future. If you were to look at the moment solely for what it is, without baggage from the past or fear of the future, then stress is not even a factor. If we live life as seeing the moment as something new, then we are free to exist in it as it really is. If we see life as not a challenge, but simply the next step of existence, then it becomes what it truly is. If we try not to go too far into the future, then we don’t rely on fear or worry to define us. When there is no fear, there is no need to control.
Life is simple, it is being, it is existing within the moment. It is when we believe it is something else that we create problems for ourselves. Next time you are feeling stressed try to remember the fact that life can be easier. Bring yourself back to the present, feel just for that moment where you are, what is happening. Don’t go into the future, but remain present. Relax here, hope here, and believe that this moment is momentary, that change is always there and where you are is where you are meant to be. Don’t fight it, don’t try to control it or manage it, but rather be. Let go and find that existing only in this moment is far easier than reaching backwards or fighting the future.