We\u2019re only a few days into 2013 and I\u2019ve already blown my main resolution. And not for the first time either. But this year I was really really going to try.<\/p>\n
Try not to worry, that is. Or at least not to worry needlessly or excessively. I\u2019ve long learned that I can\u2019t go a whole year without worrying. Who can? At its core, worry is a survival tactic, a way or warning ourselves against danger, a caution flag we wave in front of our own face. We\u2019d perish without it.<\/p>\n
But we live in an age of worry, where worry itself becomes more of a problem than what is actually worried about. It started almost immediately this new year… Millie woke up on January 1 with intestinal problems. What vet would see her on New Year\u2019s Day? Would I have to take her to the big animal ER on the Upper East Side with a waiting room full of sick cats and dogs and a dozen exotic animals?<\/p>\n
No,<\/em> my resolution told me, stop being hysterical. You\u2019re going to give her white rice and poached chicken breast for a couple of days and she\u2019ll be fine. You <\/em>know that<\/em>.<\/p>\n I wasn\u2019t done violating my resolution. Back to work on Wednesday, I noticed half the staff coughing and sneezing and wheezing. Somebody\u2019s spouse was down with pneumonia. Someone\u2019s mother had landed in the hospital for the holidays. What if everyone gets sick? What if we can\u2019t get our work done?<\/p>\n I got home to find a registered letter in my mailbox: Our apartment building was changing hands. What did that mean? Did we need to see a lawyer? An accountant? An accountant. Tax time was coming up. Julee and I were completely unorganized this year\u2014well, no more so than any year, but still…<\/p>\n See what I mean? Sometimes I just can\u2019t turn that worry machine down, let alone off. I couldn\u2019t keep the resolution to worry less for even one day.<\/p>\n Julee used to sing with a wonderful improvisational jazz vocal group headed by the brilliant Bobby McFerrin, most widely known for his \u201990s hit \u201cDon\u2019t Worry, Be Happy.\u201d Bobby himself used to laugh about how silly the tune was despite the fact that it made him world-famous. In fact Julee and I had a goofy rubber fish on a plastic plaque in our bathroom up at the cabin and if you pushed the button on the fish, its head popped around and sang Bobby\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Worry\u201d song. And it was true, we all agreed. The happiest people we knew were always the most worry-free. There was an indubitable correlation.<\/p>\n The opposite of worried isn\u2019t not-worried. It\u2019s happy. That\u2019s what I learned from Bobby\u2019s bubbly ditty and even our goofy rubber fish. So maybe I should stop worrying about worrying and just relax and be happy. Let life happen with the certain knowledge that a loving power greater than all my fears ultimately protects my way. It sounds simple, I know. Too simple. But aren\u2019t the simple resolutions the best ones?<\/p>\n So what are your resolutions for 2013? Do any involve old hit songs or rubber fish? Post below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We\u2019re only a few days into 2013 and I\u2019ve already blown my main resolution. And not for the first time either. But this year I was really really going to try. Try not to worry, that is. Or at least not to worry needlessly or excessively. I\u2019ve long learned that I can\u2019t go a whole […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":29350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[60],"ppma_author":[481],"class_list":["post-21390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-emotional-and-mental-health","tag-new-years"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n