To the Mom Who is Defined by Worry

I remember when my oldest was born, and I watched as he was laying in his crib. I felt so much love and worry all at the same time. I worried about his future and what it might in store for him — my instinct to protect him was so strong. I worried about cruel people who might hurt him, people, the mistakes he would make and the trials he would go through; and I worried about his abilities to deal with all of the hard and challenging experiences of life. I was the mom who is defined by worry.

The thing is, all of these worries were in the future and were about situations in which I had no control. In the very moment, as I watched him sleeping in his crib, we were fine. The only imminent danger was in my worries.

What do you worry about?

Not worrying doesn’t mean there isn’t pain. We can deal with pain. The present moment is never as painful as the worry we create in the future. It’s the suffering about what might happen in the future that doesn’t serve us well.

What is Worry and What Causes It

Worry lives in the family of fear and anxiety and thinks it is protecting us from danger. It’s important to understand anything from the fear family is future based. We can’t feel worried about something in the present; it’s about things that could happen in the future.