Holding joy and sorrow: A spiritual reflection on Anxiety

One of the greatest misconceptions in modern spiritual teachings is the belief that a single negative thought or a moment of anxiety will manifest negativity in your life. But the truth is being human means feeling everything.

We were never meant to experience only joy or only peace. We are here to live the full spectrum of emotions: joy and sorrow, clarity and confusion, hope and fear. It is impossible to walk through life without moments that shake us. And it is deeply unfair even spiritually unkind to believe that feeling anxious makes us energetically “low” ,”toxic” ,or “unworthy”.

As someone who is learning to hold both joy and sorrow in the same breath, I want to share something I’ve come to understand:

Anxiety is not a curse. It’s not a magnet for bad things.

Anxiety is a feeling of care. It’s often a sign that your heart is deeply invested in something, a dream, a person, a future and that you’re trying to protect what matters to you  even if you can’t control the outcome.

It can arise from sensitivity, from trauma, from love. And YES, while anxiety can be overwhelming, but it does not define your destiny, it does not predict your future. Majority of the thoughts that come with anxiety will never come True, they are simply echoes of old fears trying to keep us safe.

What we can do is build a spiritual practice that brings us home to ourselves. We can come back again and again to a power greater than our fear.

These days, when anxiety rises,I don’t fight it,  I meet it with a prayer. I remind myself of a deeper truth:

God’s plan is greater than my fear. Love is stronger than worry.

And in that moment something softens I remember that I am being guided, even when i can’t see the path clearly. I remember that my emotions are a part of my humanity not evidence of spiritual failure. I remember that every breath gives me a chance to begin again.

So if you are reading this in a moment of fear, confusion or overwhelm let this truth anchor you:

You are not your anxiety

You are not your worst thoughts

You are being held, guided, and carried even through this by the Universe