Only seven days to go before the month of July reaches its end, no pressure on me. Hence, there we go again. However, as I said on my previous blog, I am determined to get a second one published this month so I can accomplish (so far) my “one blog a month for 2024” commitment. It is a dull evening here, summer warmth is still missing, and dampness brings along such a sense of autumn that one may believe winter is on its way. Fingers and toes crossed, August may present us with long sunny spells, dry days and warmer temperatures. However, if you believe in those old sayings, hope may well be gone as it rained on St Swithin’s day, which means we will have to endure forty days and forty nights of rain. At least the grass will be green and lush, lol. Candle as usual, cupán tae as well… Oh, a slight delay, so here we are in early August as life had other plans for me, so a bit delayed, just a cúpla days. Let’s get down to business, my inspiration should do its magic and my blog will be soon ready.It looks like it is going to rain however we have been gifted with three days of sunshine, what a luxury it has been. Let’s get down to business again!
“Nonetheless, life always surprises us with its funny (or not so funny) twists and turns”
The title of this new blog post may seem to be the opposite to my last one (Be proactive, work hard), but in a way it can be seen as the continuation, or the other side of the coin, at least that is my intention. One thing is being proactive so projects can materialise, another completely different thing is wasting time over analysing all the possible worst scenarios. However, I guess we all have the habit of overthinking, obsessing, and expecting things to go according to our plans. I guess we all tend to focus efforts on mapping out the course of our life. I guess we all work hard in order to follow the aimed path. Nevertheless though, life itself often has other plans for us. Nothing new obviously. I am sure I have said this already in some of my previous blogs, although I have never given the topic a deep full-on approach. I am also sure that many people out there have written and talked about this topic widely. I am even more sure that many of us have more than once felt the guilt of insisting on events following our own expectations. Nonetheless, life always surprises us with its funny (or not so funny) twists and turns, and we simply carry on. Although we may need time to process the course of life and realise that after our worries, our sleepless nights, our moments of panic, could have been avoided. Everything tends to work out well in the end, in a way or another.
Curiously, my nana used to sing me that old song from Doris Day “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)”, which was released sixty-eight years ago. I may have been in my early teens and herself in her mid-late seventies; she had lived a life that was hard for sure: a world war, tough post war times, a civil war, a dictatorship, austerity, restriction and prohibition of freedoms, lack of food and resources, rationing of all sources, and then the new era of democracy. I was probably annoying her with my worries, with my thoughts, with my doubts and the song was her way of reassuring me that there is no need to worry too much about things. How wise she was! I had forgotten about this until a few years ago I heard the song on the radio, memories came back to life and I could hear my nana singing “que sera, sera”… I smiled. Wisdom comes with age, and with a life packed with experiences, mistakes and learnings. I was probably too young to understand what my nana was trying to pass on me by singing that song. Nearly forty years later, I am able to appreciate my nana’s clever piece of advice; I am able to comprehend that over obsessing will not make things happen; I am able to accept that there is no need to worry in excess. Nearly forty years later, I am capable of closing the door to overthinking, and over worrying, when these turn up; I am capable of embracing the twists of life as they come; I am capable of stopping the stampede of thoughts when things do not go according to plan. Over the years, I have learned to just simply carry on because whatever will be will be.
“It has taken me quite some time to …not to get myself entwined in the madness of overthinking”
I can assure you that it is not easy not to worry, not to overthink, not to obsess, trying to get things to go according to our plans. This may seem an effortless achievement, this might look like an endless battle, this could appear to be an aimless crusade. However, this may be a painful struggle to remain still. This might be a frightful labyrinth to walk through. This could be a dreadful experience to recover from. I have endured many moments of letting myself get lost in the swamps of worry, letting myself get overwhelmed with the chain of endless thoughts, letting myself get trapped in a swirl of obsessive possibilities. The sleepless hours I have coped with are countless. The worst case scenarios that I have imagined are countless. The stressful situations I have put myself into are countless. The exhausting marathons of trying to hold the reins tight are countless. The strenuous paths of overthinking I have gone through are countless. Ironically, in the end, it was all worthless! Because mostly, whatever will be will be no matter how much my one worries.
It has taken me a few good years to truly understand what my nana was trying to tell me nearly forty years ago by singing “que sera, sera”. It has taken me time to simply let things be while not over worrying and obsessing. It has taken me quite some time to, despite working hard towards my dreams and projects, not to get myself entwined in the madness of overthinking. Surprisingly, in the end, that the time I spent learning and gaining experiences was all worth it!
My humble piece of advice would be that before diving into a pool of worries, make sure you (firmly) grab the “que sera, sera” float … because in the end whatever will be, will be!
Jay Cee Moon ©
Jaycee Moon 