After The Work

Approach a beehive and one is greeted by a chorus of buzzing that only grows in intensity as you approach it. Nearing the hive, the sound is consuming and the air vibrates with energy. It as if you can feel it in your chest. The hive is alive with activity, bees darting to and fro, each doing their appointed task.

The activity in a hive can feel akin to anxiety in our bodies. A dull ache in our stomach swells into thoughts darting to and fro, each seemingly important. Considering all the options, thoughts about others, concerns about things we largely cannot control. Anxiety is our defense, our past experience the tutor. It is survival.

The fact remains we often do not live in the moments that truly make us anxious. We spend hours and days rolling around scenarios, thoughts, and worries. We even have imaginary conversations with others “If they say this, what will I say.” Experience shows it hardly goes the way we fear or envision. True there are times that will make us nervous, but in the moment, we can be our honest selves and react out of our hearts and not our fears.

Anxiety can be a notorious feeling, but we have it for good reasons. It can prepare us for important things and sharpen our senses for when it is demanded. It taps into our fight or flight, serving to keeps us alive in the worst of times. When anxiety doesn’t leave, we have a bigger project in our spiritual life. If only our lives were simple like a bee, knowing our purpose and our mission.

Spirituality runs parallel to this simplicity. We can look to God for our purpose and our mission, but it may not be what we think. Our purpose is to be ourselves as we were created and to live as the God of the Universe calls us to. Not to missions or visions, but faith, hope, and love. Our actions move out of our relationship with the Most High, in the moment. Easier said than done.

“Be still and know that I am God” are words that lead us back to simplicity, back to the moment. Taking a deep breath and repeating this phrase as we breath can help us return to the moment and still our thoughts. Along with support, wise counsel, and even a doctor, such are tools to remind us of our simple purpose and mission: To be Loved and to Love.

Breathe. Pray. Find your calm. Things have a way of working out. You will know what to do when the time comes. In the meantime, find something useful or life-giving to help you stay in today. Even if the worst case scenario takes place, God holds the body and the soul. This too shall pass. Like the bee, you have a purpose and a mission. Focus upon who and what is in front of you.