” Don’t worry about a thing,
‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right… “

~ Bob Marley

   I’ve had an ear worm lately. I won’t tell you what it is lest I give it to you, then you too will be hearing it over and over inside your skull for days on end.

But for some reason I’m attracted to the song, and the idea that I don’t need to worry,

 I worry a lot. Maybe you do, too. Thinking everything is hunky-dory doesn’t come naturally. If there’s nothing to worry about, that really worries me.

It’s actually a counterintuitive concept, this idea of things turning out fine, unsupported by evidence. How can it be true that all will be well when experience, Murphy’s Law, and every bad horror flick tell us that terrible things are bound to happen ~ and at the worst possible moment?

 Nevertheless we cling to the hope that everything will be fine. The hero shall prevail, the princess awaken, the dragon be slain, the kingdom be saved.

So holding Bob Marley’s suggestion foremost in mind does a lot to dispel my worry. There is self-fulfilling aspect to the idea which changes how I view every situation. It encourages me to see the positive, helpful aspects of whatever dilemma I encounter. They are always present. Suddenly the gloom and doom is not so gloomy-doomy.

   Worries create a logjam that keeps the creative energy of the soul from flowing freely. The hope, conviction, or even suspicion that everything just might work out is dynamite of the first order.

 When Louie Armstrong released the song “What a Wonderful World”, it was greeted by some, especially in the Black community, as a betrayal. How can you say it’s a beautiful world when so much hatred and violence surrounds us? Look at all the violence, the persistent injustice! He responded to this criticism during a performance this way:

 “But how about listening to old Pops for a minute? Seems to me it ain’t the world that’s so bad but what we’re doing to it, and all I’m saying is: see what a wonderful world it would be if only we’d give it a chance. Love, baby – love. That’s the secret.”

He wasn’t singing about what is, so much as what he knew could be. He saw it clearly enough that it became true for him.

     There is certainly a lot of ugliness, cruelty, and destructiveness in the world. This is not at all to deny that or paper it over, to sing hosanna to the heavens while unbearable suffering persists.

But worrying does nothing but cripple the spirit. What enables change is a vision of what the world could be, a dream of love and concord manifest on earth. It is the first and necessary step in transformation. From there, action can follow based on love, not fear.

   If we learn to find the beauty in crystal cobalt skies and soaring alabaster clouds, in red, red roses and young children growing and learning, that perception creates real, physical changes in the heart, body and mind. From then on we project the beauty we perceive back into the world and it becomes reality. All of a sudden, everything glows bright and wondrous.

 Louie and Bob both knew that how we think and feel about the world creates the blueprint for change. The attitude goes a long way to creating a sense of everything, every little thing, being all right.

And also being right. Along with the sense that everything’s fine is the implication, the hidden wisdom, that we ourselves are okay just as we are. Exactly what we are meant to be. Not in the future, or in some other place or situation, but right now, right here. The baseline of our spirit is infinite perfection.

This is difficult to swallow, especially for those who’ve been told otherwise all their lives, or have been the recipients of conditional love in the past: we’re not acceptable until we change into someone else. But no, there is no need. We are perfect just as we are.

I’ve had these earworms buzzing inside my head for days now, I don’t mind. Maybe they’re in your mind now, too. No matter. Let ’em run on. We’ll be okay. I’m okay, you’re okay. The world is okay. Every tiny sparrow will taken care of.

     Every little thing, everywhere, will be alright.