On the issue of "worry"

This morning on my Pandora station, the solo "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's opera "Gianni Schicchi" played. I'm not an opera fan, but this is a beautiful solo, and the incomparable violinist Joshua Bell played it.

There's an interesting story about Joshua Bell. As part of a 2007 social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities, Bell donned a baseball cap and jeans and played incognito in a New York City subway station as a busker. According to Wikipedia, "The experiment was videotaped on hidden camera; of the 1,097 people who passed by, seven stopped to listen to him, and one recognized him. For his nearly 45-minute performance, Bell collected $32.17 from 27 passersby (excluding $20 from the one who recognized him)."

This is the soloist, you understand, who commands sell-out performances. Two days before playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston with seats averaging $100. As a busker, he played six famous (and famously difficult) violin solos, yet very few people stopped to appreciate the beauty of his music because they were so focused on the cares and worries of the world.

I know someone who is worrying himself into an early grave. He has an incredible number of blessings in his life – a lovely wife, great kids, a beautiful home, good health, modest financial success – and yet he is so caught up in how bad things are getting (both nationally and internationally) that his worries are starting to damage his health.

Like the commuters in the subway station, this friend can't always lift his head to appreciate the beauty around him or the blessings of his life. Instead, his eyes are focused on the news as he obsesses over the state of the world.

And to an extent, he's right. There's a lot of worrying stuff in the world. And I mean seriously worrying. But here's the thing: We cannot add a single hour to our life by focusing on the bad (to paraphrase Matthew 6:27).

One of the possible conclusions from the experiment with Joshua Bell could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

There comes a point where we have to give matters over to God and not obsess over things we can do nothing about. It's one thing to be ready for the unexpected; it's another to literally worry yourself to death over the unknown or the future.

Of course, this is easier said than done. Some people are innately more inclined toward worry and anxiety.

Nonetheless there's a reason the issue of worry is addressed over and over and over again in the Bible. It's an age-old problem ... and it has an age-old solution.

Just some thoughts on a Sunday morning as I worry about my parents who might be impacted by the aftermath of Hurricane Hilary.