Grinding

Here is some context for my previous post on the mustard seed.

I found out that I grind my teeth in my sleep (don't ask how). It's a sign of stress. Great, I am so anxious that even in sleep I engage in behaviors that wear away my enamel. Finally I find the cause of why for the past year my tooth cries in pain when in contact with cold drinks. Now instead of just worrying about my conscious worryings, I also worry about my subconscious worryings, wrecking havoc not only on my mental but also my physical health.

So anxieties seem all-consuming, swallowing up my entire being, throwing me into a vortex swirling towards earth's center, then my honed zen instincts kick in. They tell me to take a deep breath and become conscious of the mind full of illusions. They remind me that life is a series of ups and downs, each an opportunity to connect to others: the ultimate goal in anyone's life. So I take a deep breath and think of the mustard seed. I think of how I can reach out to another in pain (we all are in one form of pain or another). I will myself to think all shall pass and all shall be well. I try to tease apart reality from illusion, real from created fears, true from false thoughts, and conclude that all are false worries. Each can be viewed through a positive and hopeful lens instead of an anxious, fearful one. Now I just have to get my body to internalize my head's rationality.