Worry is a strong feeling of concern that you might experience about a temporary situation in the present or future. Because you are focused on your worry, you blind yourself to many of the variables involved in that situation. Eventually, your worry will cause depression, obsession, and anxiety.

Although worry is a psychological phenomenon, it does cause physical disease and illness, so creating a positive outlook free from worry is essential for a happy life. This wisdom ability is one of the most important ways to release suffering.

The very structure of our society supports you in your worrying habit. As a result, most people end up trying to hide their worry or annoying others by constantly expressing it. Both of these actions create further mental, physical, and emotional problems.

Hiding your worry causes you stress, resulting in tension, sickness, and pain. Constantly expressing your worry causes other people stress, resulting in suffering for them and tension in your relationship.

Society tells men and women to use different systems to control their worry. Men tend to behave proudly or bully weaker people. Women tend to become bitterly jealous or redirect their worry onto others by excessive care. Both men and women use their mentality to rationalise their worry, creating added stress and physical tension.

Everyone wants to be free of worry, but they often get confused about the difference between worrying and simply being careful.

Worry creates overwhelming negative feelings. Once you start down the path of worry, you will not be able to recognise the negative effects until you are far along it. Worry appears because you are afraid of suffering, but not aware of its cause. This creates nervousness and the inability to calmly observe a situation.

Being careful is when you are aware of the possibility of suffering before it has occurred. Because you are forewarned, you can use logic to avoid the suffering rather than being caught up in your emotional response to the situation. Being careful is the only way to remain sharp and sensitive.

Worry comes when you are careless, causing you to make mistakes that lead to suffering. That suffering causes fear, which causes stress. Stress limits the way you observe any situation, reducing your ability to calmly observe the possibilities of suffering for yourself and others.

Being careful and remaining calm creates a contented feeling. If you feel anxious, angry, or have difficulty in observing a situation, then you have fallen into worry. However, you can use that worry as a teacher to avoid suffering. Being alert to the trap of worry will highlight the times when you are being careless, enabling you to break out of the cycle fear and stress.

You can release worry by seeing past the object of that worry then using more energy and concentration to observe the entire situation, including other people’s experience.

Written by Simon.

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