S3 Ep.193 From Anxiety to Appreciation During Holidays

Speaker 1: Hello there, welcome to the World Cafe podcast. This podcast has been designed with created content that centers on the power of words. Can we really do anything without speaking? Can we really do anything without the agency of words? Yes, that is what this podcast is all about, and I am your host , amakri Isuboye, your neighborhood word trader. I believe in the power of words , for it is the unit of creation . I trade in words to profit my world. Amazing. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good everything . Yep, how are you all doing? Beautiful? We're back. Always, always a pleasure. Coming in, as in, you know, to share, coming into this space to share how you. Yes, we're in that season where , you know, we, we share gifts with one another. We sing, you know, christmas, christmas, that's where we are. Uh, it's been a wonderful year, I must say, yes, challenging. We've had a series of challenges, you know, and all of that, but in all, we're grateful to God because we're here by His grace. Yep, all right, welcome to the Word Cafe Aha podcast. What are we going to be doing today? You know, I was just processing that thought. I always do that. I ask myself, you know, what would I share with my audience today? What would I? And all of that and this thought came to me. You know why is it that towards Christmas or towards quote unquote the end of the year, there is this, should I say, say pressure on us in a way, and some of us get like I've not achieved anything in the year and you just feel like, um you, you didn't do anything. And we put ourselves under that pressure and we begin to look forward to that new year, the next 12 months, and we begin to process things in and out of that. Somehow we're anxious and that is what I want to talk about today dealing with anxiety, dealing with anxiety. Dealing with anxiety. How do you manage your anxiety? Or how do you manage anxiety, not just your anxiety. Now, uncertainty in a lot more ways, breeds anxiety. You know, you wake up that in the morning, or you wake up that particular day and you're wondering what is that day going to look like? And somehow I ask myself, if you know what that day is going to look like, what would you do? Yeah, sincerely speaking, if you really know what the future holds like, you know, you know, you know, you know what would you do, how would you walk into it? But you know that because we don't know and we don't walk by sight. Yes, we don't. We walk by faith, and faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God. I'm not just limiting it to Christianese, as it were, now. Nah, I'm not limiting it to that. Sincerely speaking, everything we do in so many ways is influenced by what we hear, because what you hear, you want to see Automatically, what your ears, your ear gates, as we call it, hears. Your whole being, your sight or your eyes, want to gain vision of them and you want to project towards them. So how do I deal with anxiety? How do I manage anxiety? It is one big question and if we can handle it, if we can manage it, if we can, would I say, have control over it to a large degree, we will be less anxious people. And, uh, that that, that this particular thing came up and I said someone may ask you why do you, why are you so confident about tomorrow? You feel like you know tomorrow , but actually the truth is I don't know tomorrow in total, and I know him who knows tomorrow. Yes, and that gives me this confidence to like approach that tomorrow. So how do we deal with it? How do we handle it? How do we, should I say, stay focused in the face of so many uncertainties? You know, there are so many uncertainties going on, I mean around us today, and this now is fueling this. Panic attacks and, you know, anxious, should I say, we build this, anxious clouds all around us and it's like what's going to happen tomorrow, and all of that, and some of this, it snowballs into fear. Yes, fear. You become scared, you become afraid Because you are anxious. So how do I deal with anxiety? Let me tell you how I deal with anxiety. Yes, deal with anxiety. Let me tell you how I deal with anxiety. Yes, it doesn't, let it not sound like I don't deal with it. You know like, okay, he doesn't deal with anxiety and all of that. I do that, I do, I do. Yes, I do deal with anxiety. But do you know how I handle my anxiety? Yes, like I said, I know him. Who knows tomorrow? So I lean on him. There's a scripture somewhere in Philippians, philippians, chapter 4. Yes, that's my guide scriptures , philippians, chapter 4, from verse, I think, 6. If you go through what you're going to see, it says Do not be anxious about anything. Did you hear that? Do not be anxious about anything, how it says, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. We always have this aspiration, desire, expectations, yep, because you making a request or you placing a demand on something simply points to you have an expectation and you want it met. So it's like when these things don't happen, you feel like you're not leaving. Then he says let your requests be made known unto God. Practical is telling you see, god has got you covered, but he needs that relationship with you , making your request known unto him, and with thanksgiving, you should be thankful. You should be thankful. Make that request known unto God. It didn't stop there, yep, follow me. It didn't stop there. I'm going to go through the particular one, how to deal with it. So I've made my request known unto God. I mean, I've made my desires known. So what do I do now? What exactly do I do? What exactly do I do? What do I do? It goes on to say now, listen, I'm still reading. It goes on to say hold on, give me a minute. I'm the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. Well, god, your hearts and your minds in Christ, we're dealing with anxiety. You see, you've made your request known. Yes, you have a request, you have a deep desire. You want something done. You just have it. You desire it and all that, You've lifted it, more or less Coming to acknowledge that there is someone who is higher than you and he's got you covered. He's got you covered, he knows, but he expects you to acknowledge that. And he goes on to say the peace of God, will, which surpasses all understanding, will guard. So the peace is like, it's like a protection. You are within that peace, like a shield. It covers you. You're so calm. It will give you. It goes on to tell me one, you know another. He says, finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true. So now I want to go into how I deal with anxiety. Whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are good, report if there be any virtue and if there be any praise. Think on these things. So the ultimate dealing with anxiety boils down to your thinking pattern, your thinking process. What do you preoccupy yourself with? There are certain things you have control over and there are things you don't have control over. So should I bother myself with things I do not have control over, or rather, I should busy myself with things I have control over. Obviously, those things that I have control over, these are the things I have control over, these are the things I have control over. These are the things, my thoughts, whatsoever, the truth, the truth, things that are honest, or, you know, of honest report, things that are just, things that are pure, things that are lovely, things that are of good report. So I busy myself with those things, I look for those, these things, the purity of life, the charity of life, the, the truth of life. You understand, I look for those things that are just and I busy myself, I concern myself with it. I concern myself with it. So it more or less that this is where my energy or my strength comes from. So I just stay there. I just remain there, and as long as I'm there, I am protected by the peace of God, which surpasses any understanding why? Because I have lifted those things I don't have control over to Him. Yes, I don't have control over them. I don't have control over them. So I lift them up to Him. What do I have control over the things? I lift them up to him. What do I have control over the things I just mentioned prior. You know earlier, and I busy myself with those things and all of a sudden it is like this sweetness, this burst of energy is released and I walk in the revelation if I must use that word of these things. Now come to think of it. Do you have power over growth? Like you can make things grow? You don't. What you have power over is the plant. What you have power over is to plant. What you have power over is to water, but to cost increase. You and I, we don't have that. It is God who is, and having that knowledge will give you the peace. So I go after those things that will make me water the seed properly. I go after those things that will make me water the seed properly. I go after those things that will make me plant good seeds. You know, those are the things that I have control over. What are the seeds? The words of my mouth, the confession of my faith, the discipline. You know things I should do regularly, like a routine, and as I go through them daily, I begin to build this structure, I begin to build this framework, I begin to build this atmosphere , and it's like I am carrying a personalized atmosphere with me everywhere I go. Who gives the increase? God that I have done what is within my power to do dealing with anxiety. Anxiety will always will be there. But listen, you should busy yourself with what you have control over and not with what you don't have control over. And there's one thing it does to us when we are anxious, it releases certain toxins within to us. When we are anxious, it releases certain toxins within us that affects our health mentally, physically, psychologically or physiologically, even emotionally. It saps us, it drains us and we begin to act irrationally. But you don't have control over those things. So why not busy yourself with what you have control over? I know it sounds easier said than done, but it is possible For it to have been written down , for it to have been put down as a form of instruction. Then it's just to follow it. Somebody said the script is to be followed. That is why it is called scriptures. It protects you. You follow the script just like you're on a set. A script has been written, so you follow the script like you're on a set. A script has been written, so you follow the script. You don't deviate. You don't fall away or fall far away from the script that you follow it. I know already you're putting your thoughts together for 2024. You're putting your thoughts together. Now I'm going to share something with you. The other day, I had a privilege of sitting. Yes, it's concerning managing or dealing with anxiety. I had a privilege of sitting with my mentor, saffella Dorotoi , and he was teaching, as usual. I sat down to listen to him and he got into this concept, which I think will be helpful on this episode as in, to talk about our handling anxiety. And that is about time, the time factor. You know we have fragmented time. You know we humans have fragmented time into, should I say, december, and we feel like, oh, this particular year is gone, I lost so much time, so I'm jumping into a new year and all of that. But come to look at it, practically, it doesn't work that way. Time is a continuum, it's like it flows. And he said something. He said two things about time that is so unique that we should pay attention to today and now. These two things in every culture, in every language, no matter how we look at it. Now, you know that different cultures perceive time differently, even if we, we create this standard. The greco is it a greco, what's it called? Now there's this time yeah, I know, you know what I'm talking about the greco, roman time, and we look at it. We look at it and we tend to like follow it. That is what we follow now as internationality, creative standard, more or less like to help with communication and commerce and trade, and you know and all of that. But in every culture, when you talk about time, now, today is one thing we cannot run away from, now, today is one thing we cannot run away from Now, today . So now, going into the new year , dealing with that anxiety, there are three things we must look at. Yes, and I'm going to share that with you, three things. You know he said find out what you do better and give your effort. You know of working the best of that thing every day of your life. Find out that thing that you do as in, effortlessly, as you it so well, you don't need so much. You were more or less like born to doing it. Now give yourself to it. In a way, anxiety flees, because this is how I see it In the place of your purpose, you discover your pleasure. That's how I see it. In the place of your purpose, you will discover that thing that makes you happy, that thing that brings money, cannot buy it, so to say. It is not money dependent. No, he's not. It is not dependent on how much you have in your wallet or your bank account. It gives you joy, it makes you happy. There is this fulfillment, this rush, so you look for it and you dwell. There, yes, pitch a tent if you have to. In that sense, you're growing. Well, there, yes, pitch a tent if you have to. In that sense, you're growing. Then, secondly, surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you and you also bring out the best in people. Evil communication corrupts good manners. I mean, it's simple Evil communication corrupts good manners. So if I want to improve, if I want to heighten, if I want to, I should surround myself in a way. He said seest thou, a man who is diligent in his business, he will stand before kings, not mere men, absolutely, absolutely . So there's this surround. You have created this. I call it personalized, portable atmosphere. You know, with good people, people that bring out the best in you, as you also bring out the best in people. So it's more like saying that you can't give what you don't have and you can't have. If you have not been given. We all have been given something. So you need to look for that. You need to. You know. He said blessed is that man who does not sit, yes, in the council of the ungodly. Now, let me put it out the way it is. Let me put it out the way it is so that you would also see it. That's enough. Give me a minute, guys. Yes, today I want to do it as it is doing, like we say in our local palace, as it is doing. Yeah, he said blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. His delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law. He meditates day and night. So surrounding yourself with those people that bring out the best in you is like also meditating. You stay far, far. You don't participate, be it passively or actively, in those things that will drain you. No, no, then you have to live a life. You have to live a life of gratitude, appreciation and thanksgiving. You know it's called a G-A-T the God life, the God life. You have to live that life. Gratitude, you're grateful. You know you show gratitude, that feeling, you know, that comes from acknowledging. You know that something god has done something for me. I'm grateful. You show that gratitude, you are happy. Somebody said I may not, I may not be where I want to be, but certainly I'm far from where I used to be and I'm grateful. So you walk with that mindset gratitude, appreciation. You know you show appreciation to people. You know when you appreciate people, they appreciate. Did you get that? You know when you appreciate something, that thing also appreciates, as in it, increases , it grows in value. So when you look down on things , they also depreciate. Yes, thanksgiving, thanksgiving , thanksgiving. You know your source, you know where it comes from and you are like I'm thankful. Thank you, lord. I say thank you, I appreciate you, I appreciate you, Lord, I say thank you, I appreciate you, I appreciate you. Because the truth is, when you give thanks, when you give thanks, do you know what happens ? Things are given back to you. When you give Things, things Are given Back, multiplied In higher dimension and super measures, back to you. Yep, walking into the next year, 2024, there are a lot of uncertainties, but following this rule, in my opinion, will put all of us you, me, listening to me right now on the path, on the path, on the path of, should I say, ever increasing, ever increasing measures of goodness. Yes, well, this is what I came to do. This is what I came to do, this is what I came to share with you here on the show today. So, you see, we can deal with anxiety. Guys, whatever you do in this coming year 2024, do in this coming year 2024, don't allow anxiety get to you, don't? Alright, then, yes, this is what I came to do today and thank you for being there. Thank you, I being there, thank you, I'm grateful. I appreciate you. You know, even there listening to me sharing within this joy. This is the space where we all come in to lean on one another's experience, to forge a positive path Till I come your way again . Bye for now. Awesome time it has been with you on the World Cafe podcast today. Thank you for being there. You can catch me up on my social media handles Twitter, facebook , linkedin and Instagram, all at Amakri Isoboye. Also, you can get copies of my books A Cocktail of Words, the Color of Words by HRR Notebook and Hawkers, focus on God on Amazon and Roving Heights online bookstores. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel at the same address, at Amakri Issawe. I love to hear from you and how this podcast has impacted you. You can leave me a message at my email address, amakrigaribaldi at gmailcom. That is A-M-A-C-H-R-E-E-E-G-A-R-I-B-A-L-D-I . Yes, till I come your way again . Bye for now.