Finding Rest in the Midst of Anxiety

Everyone, I’m sure, has memories of where he or she was on September 11, 2001. I was living on Long Island, NY, getting ready for work, when I received a phone call from a friend, telling me to turn on the TV. Later, I saw clouds of black smoke drifting over Long Island Sound…

We all know the horror of that day.

Between September 11 approaching, disturbing (maddening) stories in the news, and other upsetting things, I’ve been having trouble getting to sleep at night.  But yesterday I discovered a technique that has really helped!

As I tried to get to sleep, I started thinking about flowers. I would name a flower, then visualize that flower in my mind.

The image would be be realistic, with sun shining and breezes blowing, in full color. I’d hold that image for a moment, then name another flower, visualize it and so on. I found myself thinking about buttercups in the grass when I was small, my sister’s garden of beautiful lilies, my mom’s morning glories climbing up a white fence when I was a kid. It became like a slide show in my mind, as I forced myself to concentrate, and what a beautiful way to fall asleep!

I’m just sharing this because it helped me, and hope it might help someone else.

Meanwhile, as we remember the people who died on 9/11, those brave and amazing NY fire fighters, and the families of all victims of the attacks, let’s pray for a more peaceful world and hold fast to our belief that there are good people in the world and we can make a difference.