When I came home from the hospital after my cold-turkey from Clonazepam I had taken as prescribed, I was weak, in severe pain, and plagued by a laundry list of withdrawal symptoms. I worried a great deal about the future. I’d ask myself “What if …(fill in with anything negative)…” over and over again.  As I navigated my way deeper and deeper through benzo withdrawal, I learned that asking “What if?” Is a recipe for creating needless anxiety.

When we worry about the future we kick our limbic system — the flight/fight/freeze region of the brain — into action and we experience anxiety or even panic.  We miss the opportunity to experience the good that is happening all around us, right here and now. This present moment — the IS of our lives — is the only time we can connect to that which is greater than ourselves (God, Higher Power, Source, call it what you like). We can’t connect in the past for it’s gone, nor can we connect in the future, for it has yet to arrive. When we worry about “What if,” we shut the door to all that is good, all that is sacred, magical, and wonderful in this present moment. “IF” is in the future for it has not yet happened. “Is” is in this present moment, it’s taking place right now. Don’t miss it by time traveling into the future. Stay right here. right now. Feel this breath. This heartbeat. You are alive! You are healing. Celebrate this moment.