Pause, Meditate and Sense when in a Panic

This morning I saw a wasp by my window, desperately trying to fly out. To help it out, I opened the panel window to it's left and expected to see it immediately sense the opening and fly out. That was not to be. An hour later, an exhausted lethargic and non-committal wasp was still trying to figure it's way out. "It's on your left damnit, stop flying right and into the wall. Stop and sense the breeze, hear the sounds, see the sunlight... The right only has a solid wall". 

It'll sound very cliché but it got me thinking. So many times the answer we need is so so close, yet because of panic, pressure and near sightedness, we don't see the trees from the forest. We rush to make decisions to go to the right, like that wasp, when left is the clear answer.

I had an incident recently when the gate at my flight check-in was a few minutes from closing, and I was required to complete an online contact tracing form. The panic that set in, had me fail to register at least ten times with two different devises. I fell into a panicked frenzy where the anxiety caused blurry thinking and vision. I was going to miss the flight! It took a moment to realize the exaggerated panic, and I am thankful that I had the presence of mind to pause, breathe, then pray, "Lord, help me here. I need calm. I need peace. I need to get this registration done and I need divine intervention". That moment of pause allowed my body to stop the shaking and hyperventilating. I was able to silence the check-in ladies constant urges to "give her the code". I silenced the final boarding call for the flight. I simply started working in an artificial vacuum and I walked the registration process methodically until the end. Strangely and very noticeably, the manager coordinating boarding walked calmly to me just as I was about to click "confirm" and suggested taking a photo of the confirmation before emailing, to speed the process. That was a Godsend suggestion since the email confirmations took time to arrive and I'd have definitely missed the flight. All in all, I checked in (last) and finally sprinted to the plane with the doors barely still open... I probably delayed the flight, but therein is God's hand and grace in the story.

The same way I got a nudge of divine help and from the boarding manager, I'm tempted to give a nudge of help to this wasp. Does it need the help? I'm sure it does. Will it have the strength to fly once it is free and carry on with life? Or will it lethargically fly right into the predictor-birds' beaks, feasting outside? Nah, now I'm overthinking it! I give it a nudge and and wasp flies out and my astigmatism fails to see where it goes and what befalls it.

I cannot count how many times that I have gone into a blurred frenzy trying to get out of what I believe is a simple and predictable problem, but end up completely incapacitated. The solution is always to pause and meditate, to ask for peace in my spirit. But to reach that point of recognizing the panic, is not easy because panic calls for more panic and the body takes over in causing anxiety, pain and itches in unusual zones that throw you off. It takes a strong sense of being to reach that point and simply PAUSE, then ask for spiritual strength and God's hand to nudge you in the right direction? 

I must admit, many a time, I have failed to find the mental agility to recognize the point where I should pause and seek help. It's usually too late that I do so and the damage is done. How can one strengthen themselves to pause when it is early enough, every time. To have faith as small as a mustard seed that the little pause shall result in success for my endeavor. 

In all things make time to pause and sense. As you cross one hurdle, learn from it. That is life...

Best wishes and God bless you.