If you believe that concern for someone or something is equal to care for someone or something, and they are also equal to worry for someone or something, then you are wrong. Let me explain.
According to my dictionary, to be concerned is to show an interest for someone or something and to demonstrate that feeling positively; to care is to not only feel concerned, but also to be interested in emotional or physical help to someone or something, and it is positively done. To be worried for someone or something too involves interest, care and concern, but this leads to a negative stance: to stress. Some souls believe that life does not move forward without worry or concern or care for someone or something. What they do not realise is that concern, care or worry are offshoots of wasteful thinking and attachment.
Everybody has experienced one of the three states, even a little child does so. If the child is not worried or concerned about the studies, then she/he is worthless. This is a very gross and blatant example. Worry, concern or care however is found more subtly within our lives. I will stick to the child example; when a child delays in returning home, the parents are tremendously worried. And then the kid finally reaches home, the parents will shout and say:”Don’t you know we care for you? Why don’t you let us know you will be late and you will go somewhere before coming home?!”. This is a very likely scenario, and what one can observe here is that care and concern is demonstrated by worry; and the child learns that care and concern is expressed through worry and stress. The more you are stressed about someone or something, the more you love them or it. This would be the logic. Is it right? Obviously no. But unfortunately, this is how we live.
I categorise concern and care in the same slot as worry because they all occur die to an external factor. We depend upon something, then we feel care and concern or worry. And this is not right. We should not be dependable upon anything or anyone except ourselves. Else, what will happen is that our mind will never be stable. The moment we will wake up, we depend upon seeing the sun to feel glad; if not, we worry about getting dirty clothes with the rain. Or we will be jovial to expect a guest, but we will be disappointed if they do not being us any gift. I know they are ridiculous examples, (That’s what I could come up with for the moment! 🙂 )but I hope you get my point. We need not depend upon anything. Our mind will else be like a swinging graph. While what we need is stability. So we should be able to create our own state of being, not depend upon anything else.
See, worry, care or concern is created when we have wasteful thoughts (refer to my other post on this topic): https://bkvedna.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/what-are-wasteful-thoughts-how-to-stop-having-them/
We tend to think too much in the future or in the past. “…What will happen if my kid does not return home on time? What could have happened?” Or, “What would have happened if blah blah….?” All of these are wasteful thoughts, we are then living in the past, future or in the Conditional tense (if you see what I mean). We ought to cease all this and start living in the present. What are you doing to make your present worry, care and concern-free? Are you happy now? What will happen, will happen (Que sera, sera!); nothing can stop it. But do not ruin your present by being overly concerned, caring or worry for someone or something. All is temporary on earth.
One needs to learn using the mental energy in the right sense; most of us misuse it by wasting it in thinking wastefully second by second- that will be worrying or being overly concerned about issues. Master your mind, and you can someday master the world.
Once again, all around you is temporary, the sooner you accept this fact, the better.
Om Shanti.
Promise of Purity 