The element from the definition that I would like to emphasize and work with is the portion of the definition that says “whether the danger is real or imagined”. There’s an excellent clue in that announcement. What it tells us is that our physical and psychological response is precisely the same whether the danger is real or imagined.
Is danger is real or imagined?
What this signifies is that we cause ourselves a enormous quantity of grief by imagining events and situations that are completely imaginary and have no foundation in reality. How often do we waste days and hours imagining potentially dangerous and/or damaging outcomes just to have everything work out and nothing bad happen? While it’s wonderful that we managed to escape the manifestation of our anxieties in a real-world surroundings, what toll have we taken on ourselves in relation to the impact we have caused a physical, mental and emotional level?
By understanding our body chemistry reacts in the exact same manner whether the danger is real or imagined, and it’s been scientifically demonstrated that under stress our body chemistry actually changes and negatively influences our immune reaction, it implies that we will need to lower the amount of anxiety to which we introduce ourselves. It means that we must become fully present and aware of what thoughts we allow to run through our heads.
Enjoy the present moment
All of us know that it is so much easier said than done. The idea of being completely present and tracking one’s thoughts is a simple one to understand, and is extremely tricky to execute. However, there isn’t any other answer. Now is all we have, and we all need. We’ll never have yesterday, the moment that just passed or the minute that is still to come. All we have is NOW, and when we expect to get another “today” that is to our liking, then we will need to be certain we’ve taken care of the present “today” to the best of our ability. Only by being fully present in THIS moment today, and giving whatever it’s that we are doing in this moment our entire attention, can we guarantee a good outcome in the “future”.
We can take a lesson from the animals in the wild. They’ve no worries or cares from one moment to another while they wander around to find their food and water, and just generally enjoy the day. They do not wander around wondering about whether, if they’ll be attacked by a predator sometime that day, or the following day or in three weeks time. Until there’s truly a predator that’s around them, they’re calm, content and at peace with themselves and the world. Whenever a predator comes in their environment, they respond appropriately in that instant. After the threat has passed, they’re back to being calm, content and at peace, and do not worry about once the predator may return. Being present in every moment requires plenty of discipline, but in the long term the benefits far outweigh the effort required. There are a number of tools now available to help us easily attain this state of health.