Written by Josie Hammond and Liv Adao
Good evening, fellow Tree Huggers. Tonight, we are keepin it short and sweet! We know y’all missed us last Monday- we have been doing a lot of stuff, and honestly, we’ve been worried. We have worried about not getting enough sleep, flying on an airplane alone, getting eaten by sharks, talking to strangers, getting AP test scores back, the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill (stay tuned for more), and even writing this blog! It is easy to be swept into this river of worries, doubts, and anxieties. There are constantly things happening that seem to drag us under. So, our goal is to provide you with some wisdom that can keep you afloat, of course, with a little help from Mary Oliver! Here is a fitting poem called “I Worried”
Going back to the list of worries that Liv and I have, you, too, have a lengthy list of worries that flood your consciousness. We encourage you to think about of few of these worries. Now, picture you are next to a stream and place those worries in the river. Then watch as they slowly drift away with the current. That is how you embrace worrying. You acknowledge the worries and, without giving them power, “give them up”, as Mary Oliver writes. We are at a point in time where worrying seems constant. War, natural disaster, political unrest, and our own daily trifles are rampant. So, whatever worry it may be for you this coming week, Mary Oliver invites us to do one simple thing-sing. We encourage you to stop the useless worrying and sing beautifully, horribly, obnoxiously, or softly. Your homework is just to embrace these moments of singing and share them with us. Goodnight, Tree Huggers, and see you next Monday!
Speak for the Trees 
One response to “Stop Worrying”
Worrying is something that in my life has felt debilitating many times in the past and honestly still to this day. It’s something that I believe is necessary, as long as it is dealt with in a healthy way. I believe a healthy relationship with worrying can help you get stuff done and be productive, but it is also very easy to be sucked into the black hole of worrying where it takes all the energy out of you and becomes counterproductive. As you put it, accepting them as reality but also not letting them have any power over you seems like the healthiest way to go about addressing these worries and I love it. We live in such a way that it is impossible to fix all of our worries about ourselves and the world, and if we try to fix all of these, it will only lead to disappointing ourselves and others. However, I also believe that if we focus on the worries we CAN change, it’ll not only improve our lives and the world, but lead us to a healthier and happier lifestyle. Thank you for another great post I look forward to these every week!
oh, and also I’ll blame you guys when someone asks me to stop my horrendous singing in the shower (I’ll still do it anyways).
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