Day 6

Consider the words of Jesus:
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on" (Matt. 6:25)

When you sit down to meditate, the first thing is to let go of your anxieties.  And when I say anxieties, I include reasoning and thinking and preoccupation and planning and all the rest.  Just let them go.  Nor is this easy.  For, as we all know, the human mind is restless.  It looks to the future with fear or anticipation; it looks to the past with nostalgia or with guilt.  Seldom does it remain in the here and now.  Yet Jesus tells us clearly to drop anxiety about the future in order to remain in the present.

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day" (Matt. 6:34).

This sounds simple; but how difficult it is!  For we love our anxieties; we cling to them and wallow in them.  We need the advice of Jesus:  "Do not be anxious..."  His words will gradually teach us the gentle art of letting go.

A suggestion for your prayer and meditation:

If you wish you can simply repeat to yourself the words of the Lord:  "Do not be anxious", "do not be anxious"...Or, again, some people like to use the words of Peter at the Transfiguration, "Lord, it is good for us to be here" (Matt. 17:4).  Any words of sacred scripture, repeated again and again with relish, can be an excellent form of meditation; and they will succeed in warding off all anxiety and needless thinking and reasoning.  Moreover, this simple process brings us into the present moment.

All of the above is taken from Christian Zen by William Johnston.

Pastor Patty Fox 40 days with 40 Christian mystics.

Anxiety and fear for the future is something I really struggle with. I daily need to remind myself of Jesus' words and do my best to live a more mindful life, being fully 'here' in the present.