I am experiencing a perfect storm of deadlines. A fundraising campaign, an upcoming performance, a portion of a manuscript, all due within the last week of October. And there’s a possible trip to NYC scheduled as well, and I am writing this from my hometown of Tampa, where I’m attending a not-to-be-missed 80th birthday party, that has me away from my studio at a critical moment. I started to hyperventilate on Tuesday, worrying I would never get this all done.
Wise Words to the Rescue
Then I thought of my good friend Satori Shakoor, and the wise words she gave me several weeks ago when I was overwhelmed and close to tears. Make that actually in tears. Satori, a fellow Moth storyteller and creator of Detroit’s Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers, has that kind of wisdom and humor and grace that is hard earned, and when she speaks (and even more, when she sings), I shut up and listen because something good is coming.
On this particularly occasion, she passed on some words from the pastor of her Detroit church. This is what she had to say about worry:
- It’s irrelevant. Worry doesn’t change your situation one bit.
- It’s irresponsible. If you’re worrying, you’re not doing the action needed to move yourself forward and out of your situation.
- It’s irreverent. If you’re a person of faith (and even if you’re not), then God’s got this. It’s not your business to worry about how it turns out. Just do the work. It all comes down to trust.
One Day at a Time
So, I settled down, thanked God for friends like Satori, worked hard, packed, prayed, flew home yesterday and landed to find out something I had to do next week no longer has to be done. A huge window of time has opened up for me, giving me about 20 hours I didn’t have before. Talk about a gift. With that news, I’m off this morning to get my toes done with a dear friend then attend a lovely luncheon for the birthday girl — worry free.
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