Worry is one of the activities of the spirit. Everybody has something to think of or to worry about, but less worry will ease the spirit while too much anxiety will hurt the spirit and shorten life. The book Ling Shu also says, “Too much anxiety injures the spirit “The book Peng Zu She Sheng Yang Xing Lun says, “Hard and continuous worry will lead to destruction of the spirit. ”
The book Wan Shou Dan Shu says, “The heart houses the spirit, and therefore, when the heart is not disturbed, the spirit will be tranquil, but when the heart is agitated, the spirit will become exhausted. Since the spirit is the master of the limbs, a sound spirit, which can naturally be fostered through worrying less, desiring less, eliminating disturbing ideas and hence resisting all encroachment, will bring about a sound body, which in turn will bring about longevity. This is essential in health care. “The book Yang Shen Fu Yu compares the relationship between worry and spirit to the one between fire and oil.
The more one worries, the less his spirit becomes; just as the more the fire burns, the drier the oil will go. This shows that worry has to be controlled, Likewise, the book Lei Xiu Yao Jue advocates “nurturing one’s spirit through reducing anxiety and worry”.
The book Qian Jin Yao Fang states, “One could also achieve longevity by restraining from the thought of clothing and food, music and sex, victory and defeat, right and wrong, gain and loss, honour and indignity, etc., thus preventing the mind from being worried and the body from being extremely exhausted. ” Here worrying less and refraining from anxiety should be interpreted as avoiding excessive and improper anxiety and worry.
Excessive anxiety and worry are detrimental to health. In real life, man can not be released from anxiety and worry, but he can reduce them to a minimum, especially in the case of personal gains or losses, fame or position, money or material comforts, etc., which one should not constantly worry about lest psychological balance should be lost and health affected. For that we must be open-minded, taking a realistic attitude and a practical way in analysing and dealing with affairs, refraining from groundless pursuit but starting from reality as the basis. When anxiety is found difficult to release, attention may be diverted to other things, putting anxiety aside for the time being until, as time passes by, it is readily solved.
Tags: irritability, Nei Jing, spirit, TCM