Anxiety as Emissary

At some point, you may realize that you need not fight anxiety so much… that eradicating it, suppressing it, and avoiding it is no longer the goal. That you can unclench your fists and set down your weapons.

The call is coming from inside the house. Inside of you. There is an inner conversation happening that demands your attention by way of those classic, oftentimes frightening symptoms: relentless worry, an upset stomach, a racing heart. What better way to capture your attention than to scare you into awareness? It insists on being seen… felt.

But it’s scary. So we make a valiant effort to make that anxiety go away. Yet, in doing so, we miss the call underneath. The oftentimes painful emotions that anxiety sits on top of.

Perhaps, then, anxiety is not an enemy with whom to battle, but an emissary calling you inward?

Because when we push against it, back it into a corner, or hold it with an iron grip, it grows louder, stronger. Its message has not been heard, and so it won’t let go… it won’t release its grip on us.

The question then becomes: are you willing to pick up the phone and answer? To listen deeply within, with courage and reverence for what may be on the other line.