To Inspire

(I just wrote the following in an e-mail to a friend, and I thought I’d post it here. For me and maybe for others.)

I felt fine after I saved the dog last night; but then later at night, and this morning, I was panicking again.

It’s such a mental thing. But there are certain things you can do to feel better.

Be good to yourself. Get enough sleep, eat right, get exercise, get the blood flowing. Think of other things. Read. Do you what you need to do to calm and relax yourself, because that is more important than almost anything else in life. It’s why we live in the first place.

Be kind of Zen about everything. Go for a walk and become aware of details. The way a certain tree trunk twists. The exact shade of blue in the sky. A bird. This actually does help.

Live in the now. Of course be careful, take all the precautions you can, but that’s not what I’m talking about. What I mean by “live in the now” is, be okay this very moment. If you can be okay this very moment, be okay for the next moment. And the next. And so on. Life is a string of present moments. Worrying involves the future, and most of the things we worry about never come to pass.

Waking up every day and getting out of bed, making it back into your bed at night — these are accomplishments.

Notice every little good thing that happens during the day, no matter how insignificant. Something that makes you smile. A good meal. A good thought. Anything. Why? Because it tells you that no matter what kind of crap is going on in your life, it is always, *always* possible to find great moments each day. Live in anticipation of those moments. It gives you something to hope for.

Most of the things we worry about never come to pass.