Anxiety and Excitement

A poem

Anxiety and Excitement

When I watch my toddler
run to me
scared
and climb into my lap

because they hear

someone at the door,

only to smile
the moment they realize

it’s Mommy,

I am reminded:

Fear and excitement
rise from the same place.

The same quickened pulse.
The same rush of energy.

The difference
is the story we anticipate
about what is coming.

But in the present,
without fearing
the worst of our past
becoming our future,

that same energy
can become

excitement.

Living with anxiety

is learning
to feel the surge
of surprise

without automatically
anticipating danger.

To pause.
To look again.

To eventually

learn to trust.

And to discover

it is love,
once again,

walking through the door.

Tavius Dyer Sunday, February 22nd, 2026