As if our societies weren’t becoming anxious enough we now have to deal with a global pandemic. Gra and I were supposed to go on a 6 week trip overseas; spending time with family and friends, experiencing other cultures and seeing some spectacular parts of the world that we’ve never visited. I’ve been processing an enormous grief over having this taken away and the lack of control and sheer vulnerability we humans really have. I’ve also been able to do a lot of quiet reflection and some online learning. 

Søren Kierkegaard, a Danish Philosopher born over 200 years ago [1813], surprisingly has a lot to say to us today! It seems that even back in his day people got so caught up worrying about the future and regretting the past that they were distracted from living in the present. Kierkegaard’s mantra was ‘Every moment’. That is, you can only truly live as a person if you are present in the moment. He makes a good point. 

Jesus of Nazareth said some really profound things that resonate with our present experience:

‘So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today’.

It’s about mindfulness for one thing. It’s also about releasing our anxieties.

What we’re finding out right now is that we can’t necessarily control what’s going to happen with our superannuation or whether we can go on that holiday or whether we will live to see our marriage, children or grandchildren or whatever. A wonder-filled discovery has been that in those moments that I stop worrying about the future or focussing on what I’ve mucked up in the past, a huge burden is lifted from my head and heart. It’s actually more possible to become the best version of myself in my circumstances and relationships. Kierkegaard was onto something there. 

At the same time Jesus also said: 

‘Don’t worry about your life’ because it’s not something you can control anyway. There are so many things you worry about, but look at how the animals just get about their lives; living every moment with no worries for what they’ll eat or wear because your heavenly father provides for them. And in the same way he wants to provide for you. 

If I’m honest , there’s both a reluctance in me to trust my life to someone else and a sense of relief that I can actually do that. Most children can live in the moment because they don’t have the burdens of worry us adults take upon ourselves. Jesus says we were never meant to take these upon ourselves anyway. We just did it because we wanted to control our lives and get stuff we wanted. A lot of the time we seem to want stuff that we don’t need. When everything is stripped away the simplicity of learning to live in the now is more than enough to be getting on with.

If you’re curious as to how Jesus or Kierkegaard had this sorted check out 

How come Jesus wasn’t worried?!

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