According to Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, anxiety refers to “a painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind usu. over an impending or anticipated ill.”
The online Oxford Languages Dictionary defines anxiety as “a
feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or
something with an uncertain outcome.”
Anxiety affects each of us in unique ways. For me, it feels
like someone has slugged me in the stomach, knocking the air out of me and leaving
lingering pain for days. It is physical, but also “of mind.” Take last night. I
was awake for hours, my thoughts churning.
2020 has provided plenty of “uncertain outcome(s)” from the
pandemic to politics. Anxiety slithers through our terrors and pain with
absolute abandon. The “impending or anticipated ill” of our shared future
feeding the hungry snake.
The pandemic began with my first experience in online
teaching in March and unexpected retirement in September. It began with intense
concern for my pregnant daughter’s well-being and the premature birth of my
grandson in June as social justice activists marched below their hospital
window. Now retirement allows me to provide childcare for this grandson as my
daughter returns to work at Harborview ER on the eve of another projected spike
in COVID infections.
As I scribble these thoughts, people across this vast
country are standing in long lines for the opportunity to practice their constitutional
right to cast their vote. The outcome is still uncertain, and anxiety remains
unabated. The result of this election will determine the direction of our
country.
2 comments:
The future certainly seems uncertain these days, doesn't it? We will do our best to make it right and pray for the rest we cannot control.
Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts, Linda. Hope holds!
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