When things seem to be hopeless or as if a disaster is looming, stop, take a few deep breaths and ask yourself this question “if today’s date was 12 September 2001, how much would this matter?”

I’m not making fun of or diminishing the importance of anything you’re going through. And the answer to the question might actually be a lot. But, there is a distinct possibility that the answer would be “not much ”.

The point is that when something seems out of kilter, our minds go into microscope mode and everything we have is focused on that one thing. Under the microscope tiny tiny particles look gigantic. So anything we are looking at through those lenses seems gigantic. Our perspective is skewed since we’re looking through the microscope.

If we could just step back and let it be its real size and shape in relation to everything else in our existence, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad.

This especially applies to that which we worry about – you know – those things that haven’t happened yet. The “what ifs” in our life. What if this symptom means it’s a brain tumor? What if the fact my friend is late means they don’t like me or maybe they were in a fatal accident? What if….

Well, what if it was the 12th of September 2001? What would it all look like then?

Let’s take our eyes off the microscope and put them back into everyday viewing mode. Look around you. What else do you see?