Needless Worry

A story worth dusting off is about a man who bragged: "I only worry about two things -- whether I am sick or well. If I'm well, I have nothing to worry about! And if I'm sick, I've only got two things to worry about -- whether I get better or whether I die. If I get better, I have nothing to worry about! And if I die, I've only got two things to worry about -- whether I go to heaven or hell. If I go to heaven, I have nothing to worry about. And if I go to hell, I'll be so busy greeting my friends I won't have time to worry! So why worry?"
Regardless of how you feel about his view of life after life, he makes a good point about worry! There is really no room for needless concern about the future. I like what Ralph Waldo Emerson said about worry:
Some of your hurts you have cured,
And the sharpest you still have survived,
But what torments of grief you endured
From evil that never arrived!
Almost without our being aware, healthy concern can be transformed into cancerous worry. And though it is true that most people worry needlessly at times, many of us feel consumed with worry too much of the time. We find ourselves "enduring torments of grief" from evils that have not yet arrived and probably never will.
What needless worries can you release today?
Moral stories can improve your moral values.
--Steve Goodier