Ducks

The most amazing part of my work day is the walk I take around a pond which is situated between a bunch of office buildings. No matter how bad my day may be going, I always look forward to seeing the ducks. They are usually swimming, resting, eating or just talking to each other (I don’t know what they are saying but I imagine it is dreadfully interesting). The weather does exact a certain influence on their festivities but they just seem to not have a care in the world. How much more would we accomplish if we could just be like the ducks? How many hours have we wasted worrying about things we cannot control? In my life I have never accomplished a thing worrying but I have spent a great number of hours with this worthless activity. To be honest most of what I have worried about never came to pass. How much better would my time had been spent with family, friends or just focused on my job? Now I try to remember that no matter how bad things get the ducks just swim about without a care in the world. They don’t worry about what they will eat or where they will sleep. They are taken care of so how much more are we taken care of in this world?

Have you ever worried anything into resolving a problem? Neither have I, so why do we spend so much time doing this mindless exercise? It is time to start gathering with our friends and letting go of these worries and beginning living our lives the way God intended. He is so much greater than any problems you may be facing or imagining.

The other lesson I take from the ducks is that they do not sit off by themselves, they hang together. By ourselves we toil in despair but with others in a supportive group there is no need or benefit to worrying. So, seek out a cadre of supportive friends who will not let you down. I bet you have just such a group around you all the time and you just don’t realize it. When we worry we are looking for the answers within when we should be looking outside of ourselves for the answer. Who wouldn’t take a friend in and feed them if they were in need? Seeking those who we can trust and who we can be a trusting friend to is so much more a good use of our time than worrying.

No matter how isolated you feel, your problems and worries do affect a large number of people, some you don’t even realize. I know when I see someone I care about worried it concerns me then I worry about them being worried. Worried by proxy is just as much a waste of time as the one worrying. Especially since we may not even know what they are worried about. It is so important to let others know our concerns because they may have a solution you haven’t thought about.

If worrying could help then none of us would have any problems but as it stands we can conquer our problems or we can let our problems conquer us. It is really just a matter of redirecting our attention in more productive ways. Instead of worrying about being laid off which may or may not happen why not spend time with family who can lift us up and support us. I imagine that if your family is anything like mine, if the absolute worst thing happened they would be there to help. So stop worrying and enjoy the life God has given you and spend that all important time with family and friends because there is probably someone around you who could use a friend right now. No matter how concerned I may be about something it really helps to focus on someone else’s problems which I may be able to help. Sometimes all we need is a sympathetic ear to let us talk about it. I know it makes me feel better.

So, moving forward I plan to enjoy my life and use my imagination for better activities than worrying. Don’t get me wrong there are some times that we face problems that greatly concern us but if there is nothing we can do to help it why fret about it? Find a solution which may just be to wait it out or ask for help because no man is an island.