By Shae Hadden | Bio

It’s difficult these days to not worry about something—what with the economic crisis, pollution, climate change, species extinction, resource depletion and the melting polar ice caps, not to mention the innumerable human conflicts on the planet. Many of our conversations revolve around one or another of these topics, or at least are impacted by the larger global issues we all are facing. And much of what I’m hearing in what people are saying is that they are ‘worried’ about the future—both their individual future and our collective future. Considering the scale and the complexity of the issues we’re facing, it might seem that we should worry. I beg to differ. We don’t have time to worry.

Worrying is one of the most unproductive things we can do. It drains us of energy, takes up our time, and doesn’t really empower us to be in action about the things we’re worried about. We often share our worries and fears with others—taking up their time and energy and not empowering them to be in action either. However, if we can look at the underlying concerns behind all these ‘worries’ we have, we can avoid being trapped in this kind of ‘stinking thinking’ (as Jim Selman so aptly would put it). Our ‘worries’ are not our reality. They are not even who we are. We need to dig deeper, to reflect on what we care about and what we’re committed to. It doesn’t matter what shows up in that exploration—whether it’s a community we feel safe in, a roof over our heads, or a world that works for everyone. What matters is that we acknowledge our fears and then focus on possibilities and our commitments.

Let’s talk about at the concerns behind our ‘worries’. Let’s have conversations about what kind of future we want to create for ourselves. Let’s look at what’s missing for us to manifest that reality, and then take action.

© 2009 Shae Hadden. All rights reserved.