I walked the trail to my halfway point in darkness. It’s not yet daybreak. The days continue to get shorter. My headlamp creates a small area of light around me, and a feeling of safety. I’m no “safer” with the light on or off, having reached a nice spot to stop, it’s an illusion. We are, for the most part, daytime creatures; we like to see what is going on around us, which requires light. Mostly. I turn off my headlamp and let my eyes adjust.

I have a song stuck in my head, but only a small portion of the refrain, and I can’t quite recognize it. Every time I try to figure it out by “playing a bit more”, it skips back to just the bit stuck in my head. I find this mildly amusing, but also rather annoying. I let it go.

A brief sprinkling of raindrops begins, then stops. Will it actually rain? I hope it does, but I also hope that I beat the rain back to the car before it begins to fall seriously. lol The trees are more dense on the other side of the trail, here, so I change my resting place to one with better cover, “just in case”, and continue thinking my thoughts.

It is a work day. A Monday. I am just two days away from completing my 30-day “trial period” on this new job. I like the job enough to want to stay. My boss has expressed his satisfaction with my work. Successful completion of this trial period feels like a given… and this has (perhaps a bit paradoxically) caused my anxiety to escalate wildly. I persist with calming breath work, and take steps to regain my perspective and get centered.

…Breathe. Exhale. Relax. Repeat…

Adult anxieties are no more rational than any other anxieties, and they are not a reliable gauge of “threat levels” or hazards. In this case the perception of a ticking clock, a countdown, and the explicit proposition that the decision regarding whether this is a permanent position at all rests on these 30-days definitely amplifies my insecurities, which in turn cranks up the volume on my anxiety. It occurred to me days ago (and may have been explicitly stated by someone at some point), that this “pressure cooker” really is a test – of my ability to handle routine matters under pressure, to cope with high demands on short timelines, to adequately determine relative priorities, and to be resilient. Pretty good test, too, if a bit nerve-wracking. I expect to pass, but that expectation actually seems to make the anxiety worse, not ease it at all. lol

… I’ll be glad to see Wednesday’s sunrise with this first 30 days entirely behind me…

I take a few unmeasured minutes to meditate, and for a time I feel freed from my anxiety. Nice. Another handful of sprinkles passes by, and my choice to take cover under the oaks is proved a good one. Well timed. I smile at the clouds overhead. Daybreak comes, gray and moody, and I am joined by some very early robins who seem eager to see what they can find in the dampened leaf litter and softened earth. So far it’s quite a pleasant Monday morning, in spite of the coming and going of my anxiety in the background.

I inhale the damp autumn air, filling my lungs with it, feeling uplifted. It took me a long while to learn to put more attention on the good moments and small joys than on the moments of stress and doubt. It has been profoundly worthwhile to learn this practice. It’s not about ignoring stress or stressful things. Circumstances need to be appropriately dealt with, regardless how stressful. As creatures, though, we tend to get fixated on our most difficult, painful, scary, unpleasant, and challenging experiences, and if we do so to the exclusion of all else, we can easily develop a negative view of life more generally, that can begin to pull us down into despair. That was my own experience, for sure. This is better. So, I set aside any fretting over work, because the work day hasn’t even begun yet, and I allow myself to embrace these lovely moments on a Monday morning, and take the time to enjoy the dawn of a new day with my whole attention.

I sit awhile longer, here, now, enjoying this lovely moment of peace and solitude. I listen to the occasional sprinkling of raindrops on the leaves overhead. The sky lightens to a paler shade of blue gray. I think about the weekend, my Traveling Partner’s love, and good home cooking. I think about how well the Anxious Adventurer took care of the lawn all summer, how good it looks, and reflect on my gratitude and appreciation – and wonder if I have said “thank you”? I ponder how fortunate I am to have found a new job so quickly after being laid off and remind myself to thank my Traveling Partner for some excellent professional advice he gave me, in the earliest days of our friendship, that has continued to serve me well. I remember being incredibly irritated to hear him suggest that I consider cultivating a more agreeable and approachable attitude, professionally (and it was hard to hear that I was difficult to work with…) I’m grateful that I took his words to heart. Life has been better personally, and more successful professionally. Definitely worth a “thank you”.

The sprinkling begins again, and seems inclined to continue. The clock continues to tick. I sigh to myself as I get to my feet. Already time to begin again.