Bears, Fish, and Water

I've spent what feels like a lifetime trying not to think too much, worry too much, stress too much. I've tried exercise, yoga, meditation, mindfulness, anti-anxiety medications, and cognitive behavioral therapy, and still I have physiological symptoms of stress. 

As much as I HAVE to get a handle on this, I think the one thing I can immediately let go of, is being stressed out about how often, and how intensely, I am stressed out.  What if I'm just a person who worries? Is that so terrible? What if it is simply where I am in life right now? What if I just accepted it? No internal, or external, judgement required. That, is a change I can make today. 

Yes, of course I'm going to continue with the exercise, yoga, mindfulness meditation, and CBT techniques I've learned, but I can also just let those worried and anxious thoughts be there. I don't have to engage with them, I don't need to add to them, just let them be present: like water to a fish.