Respecting Other's Anxieties

Posting some of my favorite past blog entries.

I don't get all of this hype??? Down here in Florida all we do for a cat2 hurrican is break out an umbrella and thats no joke!

This guy’s tweet conveys my thoughts as I watch TV. People in New England are panicking over a category 2 hurricane. Category 2! Because I grew in Florida, the only time I panic over a hurricane is when referencing college football (albeit Hurricane Charlie WAS terrifying…). I am reminded how experiences shape us. We compare events to what is familiar or unknown. I have a friend who plans his whole day around the weather. I teased him when he said he had to hurry home at noon before the wind and rain came. “You better hunker down!” I jokingly said.

I feel bad for minimizing other’s anxieties – we need to respect people’s ability to persevere through events that have no impact on us. Last winter, I had no heat and was incredibly frustrated at friends who complained about the cold yet had a warm house to sleep in. And when I had no food, I’d cringe at those who said they were starving when I hadn’t eaten in 2 days- and they had a buffet lunch 3 hours ago.

Now that I am in a much better place, I remind myself not to minimize other’s ‘problems’. Circumstances and events shape us. A lady told me today how baffled she was by her boyfriend’s negative reactions when she gives him gifts. He was living on the streets with no help from his family. I could relate. I told her “his own family won’t help him, so when you do something nice for him, he probably wonders why are you helping him? What is your ulterior motive?” She said he had asked her those very questions. Yep, I’ve been there.