In a worldwide devotional for young adults, Elder Patrick Kearon and his wife, Sister Jennifer Kearon, answered a question about how we can feel peace when we are anxious. Elder Kearon shared what helps him.
Think of Others’ Well-Being
“My anxiety, far too much of the time, is about me and how I’m doing and did ‘I make a mess of that?’ and that kind of thing,” he explains. “Something I’ve learned, over and over again ... is that if I think of somebody else, my anxiety lifts. I just have to think about somebody else’s well-being and my anxiety starts to lift. In fact, it’s gone, often. ... And if I do something nice for somebody else, there’s just huge power in that.”
Elder Kearon points out that, in scripture, the individual who talks most about being anxious is Jacob. But Jacob’s anxiety is turned outwards and is focused on his people and their well-being.
“I’d like to be more like Jacob and have my anxiety be more outwardly focused,” Elder Kearon says. “And I think there’s huge—I know there’s huge—healing.”
Accept and Expect Discomfort
Sister Kearon adds that, nowadays, we aren’t used to discomfort, pointing out that we can stand in a cold shower and slightly adjust the nozzle to be instantly warmer.
“When we feel worry about the future because it’s uncertain and it’s unknown, that’s very natural,” she says. “I think we have to accept that part of being human, part of living in this world, is accepting moments of discomfort and accepting maybe even periods of discomfort and being OK with uncertainty. You might expect to have a few days or a few weeks or even a few months where you are a little bit unsettled or a little bit maybe even blue.
“We need happy and sad. We need joy and sorrow. Those experiences, those emotions, those are what make life so exciting and so beautiful.”
Watch the Kearons’ full devotional in the player below:
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