One of my favorite quotes is from the movie “The Spanish Prisoner”: “Worry is interest paid on a debt that never comes due.”
A wonderful illustration of this happened to me over the weekend. I got an automated phone call that said “This is not a sales call. it is very important you call … during regular business hours.” It sounded like a sales call to me! So I googled the company, and it turned out to be a collection agency. My first thought was, “Oh no, what if one of the doctor bills I’m contesting got sent to a collection agency? How dare they! My credit will be ruined!” But then I took a deep breath or two, and realized that I had no idea what the call was about. And that there was nothing to do but call on Tuesday. The next day or two my mind would every once in a while wonder what it was about, but I was careful not to worry, but just to let the thoughts go.
Today, Tuesday, I called, and it was for someone who used to have my number, not for me at all! So if I had worried all weekend, it would have been for nothing. I’m so glad I didn’t waste more than a couple of minutes on it.
What are you worrying about?
Posted by Jonathan as Mindfulness at 3:58 PM PDT