What I’ve observed as I’ve moved through life, is that the anticipation of something happening is always worse than how it actually unfolds in reality. And yet, every time I come up to a new event that makes me scared, nervous, stressed, worried etc, I go through the same process; not fully trusting that in the end it’s always ok.
I think what happens is this: our minds can be very black and white – it’s either all good or all bad – so when anticipating an event that perhaps we are nervous about, we see it as all bad, or all challenging, stressful, overwhelming, you get the idea. But what often happens in reality is that the experience is varied. Part of it might very well be challenging, stressful, overwhelming, scary…but many other aspects of it may be enjoyable, easy, fluid.
Life is never so black and white, the way our minds sometimes project it to be. It is a path that traverses through many terrains; sometimes steep, sometimes sloped, sometimes gentle and rolling. And so I remind myself, for the next time (because there is always a next time), that even if what is to come might scare me or challenge me, that it will be more fluid than what I expect. That there may be moments where yes, it’s hard, AND… can I still remain open to the parts that will be ok, perhaps even delightful.