Anxiety

Yesterday's post got me thinking more about anxiety.  Wikipedia describes anxiety as "... a feeling of fear, worry, and uneasiness, usually generalized and unfocused as an overreaction to a situation that is only subjectively seen as menacing.  It is often accompanied by muscular tension, restlessness, fatigue and problems in concentration."

I recognize that description - it fits well with my experience that I call anxiety - so I have the right word.  All I really know is my own experience, so it is natural for me to think that my experience is "normal," that the way I feel is how everyone feels.  Though that is certainly not the case, it must be a common enough experience that it is defined with a description that I can relate to.

What causes anxiety, and how can I reduce it?  I think it stems from one of two things - either attachment to a particular future outcome - or aversion to one.  That is, there's something in the future that I want to occur, and by being attached to that particular outcome I become anxious at the possibility that it might not be realized.  Or, there's some future condition that I want to avoid, and I become anxious that it might occur anyway.  

I can plan and prepare, thereby increasing the likelihood of the outcome I prefer, but there will always be anxiety until I let go of the attachment or aversion.  There's a yogic teaching that we are entitled to our actions, but not to the fruits of our actions.  That is, we do our best in pursuit of the outcome we prefer, but in the end, we need to accept whatever occurs.