I’ve noticed how anxiety typically rises when we try to anticipate the future or how a sequence of events might unfold.
Marc-Antoine Crocq notes in his article about the history of this emotion how, “The word… derives from the Latin substantive angor and the corresponding verb ango (to constrict).”
That “to constrict” is the root word of “anxiety” is fascinating and perhaps provides an antidote to its effects.
Meaning, when we feel anxious are we not “constricting” the height, depth, and span of the present moment in an attempt in imagine and navigate the future? And as Mark Twain once said about the foolishness of such an endeavor – “I have spent most of my life worrying about things that have never happened.”
So, perhaps, the next time we feel anxiety rising inside us rather than attempting to anticipate where a sequence of events might lead, could we choose to “expand” ourselves into the present moment and to notice all the colors, shapes, smells, and people around us? And perhaps, by living fully inside that moment we are more likely to shape a future we prefer.
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