Worry and anxiety plague multitudes of people in this fast-paced world. Be it a businessman or a serviceman, a school student or an octogenarian, a rich person or a beggar, everybody worries for one reason or the other.
Worry and anxiety plague multitudes of people in this fast-paced world. Be it a businessman or a serviceman, a school student or an octogenarian, a rich person or a beggar, everybody worries for one reason or the other. While it is natural to be concerned about our well being, we often tend to heighten the anxiety to an unreasonable level. The high levels of worry sap our emotional energy, send our anxiety levels soaring and interfere with our productivity, affecting our daily lives. Worry is like a rocking armchair. It is always moving but it never takes one anywhere. Very often we believe that we can take care of our problems. Yet sometimes, despite all our effort, we are unable to bring about suitable solutions. We worry about our future, focusing on “what ifs ” and worst-case scenarios in our minds. What should we do in such cases How should we kill our worries In this regard there is a story about a clock. One day the clock started thinking about how many times it would have to go “tick tock”. It began thinking that it had to tick 60 times per minute, then it would have to tick for 60 minutes per hour to equal 3,600 “tick tocks” per hour. Then it began calculating how many times it would have to tick each week, month and year until it worked itself into a panic. “That is too much work! How will I be able to keep up with that workload ” The clock became so worried that the anxiety caused it to start missing beats. Soon its timing was off. Worried about being cast out by the owner, the clock went to see a doctor. “Doctor,” said the clock, “I am really worried. I am so worried that I am unable to reflect the correct time anymore.” The doctor said, “What are you worrying about ” The clock said, “I am worried about how many times I have to tick each week, each month and each year.” The doctor said, “Your worry is causing you to miss all these beats. I have a solution for you.” “How many ticks do you have to tick at one time ” the doctor asked. “Just one at a time,” the clock said. “Then I recommend to just use all your energy to focus on ticking one tick at a time. If you only worry about one at a time, you will be fine,” said the doctor. The clock took the doctor’s advice, and from that time on concentrated on one tick at a time, without ever missing a beat again. The moral of the story is to take life one tick at a time. Live in the current moment and do not worry about the seconds and minutes to come. If you find yourself stuck on a particular thought, bring your attention back to the present moment. The past is gone; the future is yet to happen. Worrying for tomorrow never robs it of its sorrows, but it does decrease the joys of today. It cannot be a mere coincidence that the word “present” also stands for a “gift”. The present moment is a gift from God. Let us not waste this precious gift in worrying about the past or the future. Let us thank God for what we have and enjoy His gift by learning to live life one tick at a time.
Sant Rajinder Singhji, head of Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission, works towards promoting inner and outer peace. He can be contacted at www.sos.org
