Be Not Afraid
This Halloween, there's a pretty good chance that you have some anxiety right now. (Why we have a holiday that seems to glorify fear, I swear I'll never know). Nonetheless, I thought it might be helpful today to have a little comfort. Let's face it; we have a few things on our plates. First, we have a profoundly disturbed president who is up for reelection in a very few days. Importantly, no matter who wins, we will continue to have a large contingent of our neighbors and lawmakers who support his divisive rhetoric. To boot, COVID-19 is running rampant across our country and has killed approximately a quarter-million Americans to date. And, in case that isn't enough, our police are murdering African Americans at a steady clip. A horror movie couldn't have a better plotline. Nevertheless, we don't have to live in fear. Here are a handful of actions that you can take to produce some calm this Halloween.
1. Shift your perspective.
Over the years, I have been able to lean on scripture to ease my fears. So many apply, but one, in particular, has spoken to me during this time. The prophet Isaiah as part of his scathing indictment of Israel provides wise counsel. They, like us, tended to place their trust in idols for security and strength. They, like us, suffered the consequences. That approach continues to be a recipe for disaster. Verse 22 makes it explicit.
“Turn away from mortals, who have only breath in their nostrils, for of what account are they?”
At times, all of us need a good reminder to shift our focus back to God. As much as I cringe at our current administration, we should not be a bit surprised by the level of deceit and corruption. We can no more trust in them than Israel could trust in evil kings and rulers. I recognize that Isaiah spoke at a different time and under other circumstances. Nevertheless, his message continues to ring true.
The fact of the matter is this, whatever our political leanings, Donald Trump and company hold no ultimate power. He is not the One in whom "we live, move, and have our being." It's worth remembering that today. COVID-19 has decimated our world, and yet, I am confident that we will get through this. I know that there is One who has witnessed plague after plague, pandemic after pandemic. I know that that One will continue to stand. We can lean into that truth.
2. Be Still
One of my favorite scriptures is in the Psalms.
“Be still and know that I am God.”
These words cut across all of the issues that affect us right now and are imminently practical. I love that they involve the quality of body and heart and mental assent to God's omniscience and omnipotence. One of the ways to put this verse into practice is through silence. To make it practical, try putting your phone down. Try leaving it in another room. (Research shows attention is compromised with our phone in the same room that we're in, even if it's off!) Take 10-15 minutes to sit quietly, settle in, and enjoy the silence. If a thought, feeling, or impulse comes up, let it come, without being particularly bothered by it, then gently return to the present. Like so many others, this verse sounds good, but without practice, it is of little value. We must find the time, especially now, to stop, to sit, to be silent. We must make ourselves vulnerable to the healing power of silence regularly.
3. Work within your circle of influence.
One of my favorite books is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. One of the concepts that he presents is the circle of influence. As I understand it, our circle of influence includes all areas that we have some direct capacity to change or influence. For example, this may consist of voting on November 3rd, supporting causes we care about, teaching our children about politics, or eating well. As we work proactively within our circle of influence, that influence expands into our circle of concern, including all of those issues and events that we have no direct control over. For example, our circle of concern may include systemic racism around the country, our family history of cancer and mental illness, and the election outcome on November 3rd. If we squander time fretting and fuming over issues within our circle of concern, we whittle away our potential to impact it positively.
Stephen Covey-The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
The Serenity Prayer echoes this concept nicely as well.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change…
Courage to change the things that I can…
And, the wisdom to know the difference. ”
4. Know your worth.
As an African American man, I am acutely aware that the list of things that can get me killed if I'm pulled over gets longer by the day. However, more importantly, I know that I, along with all of my brothers and sisters, are imbued by God with an unsullied and untarnished value, despite the monstrous atrocities we suffer. This value will never change, and our lives truly do matter. Not because of a movement, but because I intuit and trust that my Creator says so. Your circumstances may be different, but your worth is the same. This truth bears remembering.
5. Seek help
If anxiety and fear keep a stranglehold on your quality of life, making it difficult to function day-to-day, there is no shame in seeking professional help. The time is ripe now to seek out this help, as you may not even have to leave your home. So many counseling practices, including ours, offer video-based therapy sessions. There is no reason to continue suffering.
Hopefully, these tips have been helpful. So, this Halloween, I encourage you with the refrain that's pretty common in 2020, we will get through this. There is no need to live in fear..