There once was a girl that let anxiety rule her life. She would worry and panic over just about anything. The girl lived her life around “what if’s”. 

 

One day, her father noticed her mental state was particularly concerning. She had been sitting in front of her steak dinner, just staring at it. She hadn’t taken one bite. “Daughter, what is troubling you?” he asked. She looked up at him and said “what if this meat is tainted?” The father looked down at the meat to inspect it. “My girl, there is nothing wrong with this meal, it is perfectly edible.” The girl responded with a list of possibilities. “What if this meat has parasites? What if it’s undercooked and I fall ill? What if it is simply past it’s edible date?”

 

The father didn’t know how to respond to such worrisome questions, as he had never really considered them himself. “Dear girl, you cannot live your life worrying all the time. You won’t be happy.” The girl responded in a somber tone, “I’d rather be safe than happy. Just in case”. 

 

The father went to bed that night and pondered a solution to his daughter’s worries. The next morning he handed her an umbrella. “What is this for?” the girl asked. “I want you to carry that umbrella with you all day, and don’t put it down for anything” He responded. “Why would I do such a thing?” 

“Because it may rain.”

The girl didn’t question further, rather, she took this as a valid point.  

 

In the morning, the girls’ father gave her a list of errands. “I want you to go to the market first, we need bread and meat. Bring it all straight home. Next, you will need to gather the eggs from the chicken coop. After that, feed the cattle and migrate the horses to the new stables. Finally, I want you to peel the potatoes for supper.”

 

The girl carried the umbrella with her all day, never setting it down once, just as her father had asked. She went about her day, completing the tasks, but began to realize just how difficult it was when carrying around an umbrella. She first went to the village to pick up the produce. As she walked through the town, she found it increasingly difficult to maneuver through the crowd. 

“Hey, young lady! Watch where you wave that thing!” 

The girl felt the pressure from others, trying her best not to bump into anyone; but there was only so much she could do with a considerably large, open umbrella. 

 

The girl reached her first destination, the bread booth. “Greetings, child. How may I be of service?” 

“My father sent me to get bread”.

“Well look no further!” The man handed the girl two loaves and sent her on her way. She arrived at her next stop, the butcher shop. “Sir, my father has sent me to collect some meat”. The man handed the girl two steaks and sent her on her way. 

 

As the girl walked the path home, she found it tough to carry the bread, steaks, and umbrella in her arms - not to mention the weather wasn’t all that great and the winds began to pick up. 

A large gust came, tugging on the umbrella, causing the girl to lose her grip on the food and sent it flying into the mud.

“Damn this thing!” the girl shouted as she stomped her way home to tell her father of what had happened.

“Just continue on with your chores, and don’t set that umbrella down.”

The girl complied and continued with her list of tasks. 

 

She headed to the chicken coop to gather the eggs. As she opened the door, all the chickens were startled by the umbrella. Feathers went everywhere as the girl tried to calm the birds while holding the very object that was frightening them. Eventually she was able to gather the eggs, but not without hardship. Her next duty was to feed the cattle, and by no surprise, they were also frightened by the umbrella. “Calm down, you beasts!” shouted the girl. The bulls reared and bellowed like never before. The girl quickly gave them their slop and headed over to the horse stables. 

 

Once she reached her destination, she stopped and hesitated before opening the door. “I already know what’s to come once I open this door.” The girl entered the stables and, as she expected, the horses were frightened. They neighed and reared, just as the cows had. “Calm down, wild stallions! It’s just me!” 

 

Once the girl calmed the horses, she tried to climb onto the back of one. The umbrella hovered over the horse’s head and it was once again spooked. It began to buck and the girl held on as best as she could. The horse burst through the stable doors and out into the field. The umbrella caught the wind, the girl was tugged off and plunged to the ground. She watched as the stallion took off into open meadow. She admitted defeat and left the stables to complete her final chore of peeling potatoes. 

 

The girl sat with a bucket of potatoes ready to be peeled. “There is no possible way for me to mess this up.” She picked up a potato and peeler, trying to hold them comfortably in her hands with the umbrella. She began to peel but soon dropped the potato as it slipped from her grasp. She grabbed another and was met with a different fate as the peeler nicked her hand. She continued to struggle but peeled until the bucket was empty. 

 

The girl stormed back home, filled with anger over her dreadful day, her hands covered in lacerations. She barged through the front door and up to her father. “Take this umbrella! I have had the lowest day of my existence. I dropped our breads and meat in the muck, was attacked by hens, frightened our cattle, lost one of our steeds, and I gashed my hands to all hell peeling potatoes! Why on earth did you ask me to carry this wretched thing with me all day?!” The girl hollered. Her father looked at her and asked “So your day was much more difficult than it should have been, yes?”

“Of course!”

“And it did not rain, did it?”

“Well… I suppose not… but what does that have to do with my ordeal?”

“You carried this umbrella, not only because I told you to, but because you also thought it may rain?”

“Yes.”

“Daughter, you carry your worries with you just as you carried this umbrella today. Your worries cause you just as much misery as this umbrella did.”

“I just don’t want to take any chances, father.”

“My girl, worrying is silly… It's like walking around with an umbrella waiting for it to rain. You will cause yourself more harm than good, more misery than joy. Go on and live your life, live without fear, live without worries, or stress. No longer should you carry such constant stress when it is unnecessary.”

The girl listened to her father and realized his reasoning made more sense than any of her worries ever did.