What If?

 

As a fiction writer, the question, “what if?…” has always served me well in crafting a story. But now, what if has crept in to my actual life, causing fear and stress.

What if I lose my Medicare?

What if I lose my social security?

What if the future I counted on is no longer there?

These are the what ifs that have me waking at 2:30 in the morning. They are the what ifs that cause my belly to fill with dread, my heart to beat faster, and for me to greet the world with despair, rather than hope. 

But what if…

…I let go of these dire what ifs and embrace joy and hope anyway? 

If I say, “what if things don’t go as I fear and the road ahead of me is bumpy but also filled with joy, comfort, and love? What if I tend to my heart and choose happiness over despair, despite a future that looks very dark indeed?” Will I have a better outcome if I choose worry over hope?

No. Because outcomes are out of my control. I can live only in the present. The only thing I can control is: will I greet my day with heartache and pain? Or will I take to heart the notion that my reaction to the world and what may or may not come to pass is the only real power I possess? 

With that power, I may not move mountains, but I can move my mind and my heart toward living the best life I can. 

Choose #happiness. Choose #joy. 

Turn away from fear because fear can’t do a single thing to change the future.