My mother used to tell me ‘if you worry you die, if you don’t worry you still die, so why worry. Another one of her favourites was ‘don’t trouble trouble until trouble troubles you’
I have also heard
—-> Worry does not empty tomorrow of its troubles. It empties today of its strength
—-> Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose (Eckhart Tolle)
I tend to be a worrier, but it is true that most of what I worry about has not and will not ever happen. My worst times of worry are when I cannot sleep. My brain blows everything out of proportion as I try to find sleep. When I wake up the next day I realise my brain was being ridiculous.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”… the last verse from one of my favorite passages in the Bible, Matthew 6:25-34.
Like you, worry and anxiety tend to blindside me at night. There are a couple methods that have helped me and continue to help no matter what time of day or night, and in such a positive way that it’s impossible for me to adequately express. One, UK actor David Suchet’s narration of the Bible, and two, the incredibly talented Dutch musician Xander Stok’s Project of Love, scripture through music, e.g., “Look at the Birds” from the Matthew 6 passage.
Either way it’s just David or Xander using their gifts to share scripture. No preaching, no commentary, no noise, just timeless, multi-generational, color/gender-blind scripture. They’re both available on most known audio platforms, but Xander’s YouTube videos are really good.
Everything about this is so true!
From…a worrier.