"You must learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.
" -- Indira Gandhi In these turbulent times, many people feel overwhelmed with anxiety.
As they contemplate personal and professional stressors, their gears are spinning, but they're not meshing into anything meaningful.
A paradoxical aspect of anxiety is that it feels like activity, since your mind is constantly racing, but oftentimes the end result is a frozen state where the only thing you're producing is more tension and fear.
Untold numbers of self-help books hold millions of words of advice about how to manage stress and anxiety.
But I believe they can all be summarized by what has become known as the Serenity Prayer, where you aspire to have the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can and the wisdom to know the difference.
I suppose it has to begin with the wisdom, as you examine your life and determine where you can create change and where you cannot.
The process of gracefully accepting the unalterable (which often has to do with people you would like to change!) can produce both inner peace and increased energy for efforts more likely to yield fruit.
Once you have quieted the endless mental chatter that comes with anxiety, you create a tranquil space where you can actually hear your wise inner voice.
If you listen closely, it will guide you to where you need to go and help you appreciate where you are right now.