Waiting is not only difficult. Waiting can be hell. But whether it is waiting for the phone to ring telling us whether or not we got the job we wanted, or waiting for a delayed flight, or waiting in a hospital waiting room, or waiting for a clear and final decision about who has been elected president, waiting is not something we in this society do well. I struggle with waiting. So, often when there is nothing I can do that will impact what is going to happen, my mind rushes to imagine worst case scenarios.
Fear can spread like a destructive virus.
So can anxiety. You probably remember one of the classic definitions of anxiety. It is that anxiety is fear without an object. Anxiety is feeling a kind of fear, but not being able to say with clarity exactly what we are really afraid of. Since last Tuesday's election, many people in our nation have been suffering an attack of acute anxiety.