Here’s a trick for those who feel down at the moment. First, always remember nobody enjoys supreme monopoly over anxieties, whether over unfinished work or one that’s still up ahead. Inasmuch as we like to procrastinate just like most people, we also tend to overthink. As in Chess, thinking ahead often leads to perceived posers not yet there. Second, the onset of anxiety is likened to a wave, relentless and unmindful of what’s in its way. And in your most vulnerable state of feeling down, you are unfortunately in its path. So there. The solution? As a free-wheeling old pal, hippie-like “todo-todo” would always say, carry on and just ride that wave, baby. To add, Hemingway was said to have written: the rain will stop, the night will end, the hurt will fade. Hope is never so lost that it can’t be found.
Presently, I have some friends who feel desperate and ‘frozen in the headlights’. Caught in stranger environs, one could say their initiatives are almost dead in the water. Truth be told, who’s a stranger to all these? An advice from a long time ago by my late and beloved mom puts things in quite a simple perspective. When a younger sibling was going through an adolescent rebellious phase, she flatly said he would eventually “overgrow” that problematic stage in life. It’s only now I have come to understand what she meant by ‘overgrow’. As it could mean many things, I’ve realized she had been right, right there. Ride that wave, baby.
I know of two close friends who, in the last year, have overcome extreme medical emergencies. while looking at their second chances at life as nothing short of a religious miracle, one has tuned in to a more simple way of life, taking every step as a gift, while the other has turned hedonistic, eat, drink and be happy, for tomorrow we die. This is a different matter altogether. After every trial, we’re dealt with so many choices, like so many waves to choose from. But that’s the way it is.
On a more personal note, I’ve adopted that simple-minded idea that “it’ll all be better in the morning”. You may have noticed, we usually make light of some problems by saying, what would Batman do or what would McGiver do, whenever we’re faced with adversities. Yet, that is actually a start at solving these things. For my part, I like to think ahead and tell myself, by next week, I’ll be looking at all these from a newer perspective. And I await that day. When nothing happens, I simply extend the due date. In a sense, that’s riding the wave for me and it could spell differently for others.
To end, in the face of unfinished work and all things up ahead, having any option is much better than just feeling dead in the water. For some, it might be baby steps the rest of the way, while for others it could be boldly riding the wave to whatever outcome. At the very least, that’s definitely better than just standing on the shore.
