Some people might find what I’m about to say depressing

But I find it so wonderfully de-stressing: 

No one is thinking about you 

No one is thinking about me 

I like to tell this to all my patients with anxiety 

Especially the social kind

Keep in mind: you are not Taylor Swift or Princess Kate 

Or some other bedazzled figure

Isn’t that great to picture?

You were never strong enough to lift everybody up 

So let up

Because you’re not letting them down 

You’re not the greatest thing in this town 

And you’re not world-renowned

Your life is yours 

Stop posting pictures of all your tours 

And quit competing with everyone 

Run your race 

And know your reasons for what you do 

Love people but know that their opinions are chaff

Give it just a year or two and they won’t remember you when they look back

Trust me, I know

I gave a few years to a sport 

It was time to leave 

One of my teammates had given me a keychain of sorts 

What a surprise

I saw her a few years later 

I was wearing shorts and was someone she apparently didn’t recognize

She asked, “What’s your name?”

In all my pride, I was pained

Doesn’t the Bible warn?

We’ll all be forgotten 

Maybe that’s why Alex Honnold climbs free solo 

He seems to know 

That if he falls, life will go on 

His lover will find another 

I admire that he keeps his carbon footprint small

Shouldn’t we all?

For people will come after us 

My high school basketball records have long since been broken

Like that old keychain 

I jog past my old high school every day – no one knows my name 

Even all my young adulthood friends have moved away

Just one or two might text me a happy birthday

Even my beloved dog just knows this moment

And I am a staunch proponent 

Of bicycle helmets and kindness 

Despite what people think, I embrace the elements 

Because it’s what I want to do 

Even on the ugliest of weather days 

And I peer past the blindness that believes the world revolves around me 

I keep in mind that God sees

We’re all on a ship that is sinking 

But I still find myself believing it’s worthwhile

Be you – that can make God and others smile

Isn’t it great to know – that no one (except God) is thinking – about you