Why the Price of a Gallon of Gasoline is an indicator of How High Communal Anxiety Is

As one who has been studying Bowen Family Systems Theory for about 14 years now I am usually on the watch for "triggers" of anxiety.  Maybe signs of anxiety getting ready to move through a system is more of what I'm thinking about right now.  At any rate, ever notice how it seems that when things are going swimmingly well all around, someone will bring up the price of a gallon of gasoline?  Doesn't matter how old they are or how young they are. . . they blurt it right out and we all just nod our heads in assent!

In good old Lutheran fashion, I ask, "What does this mean?"  "Vas ist das?"

In the church, as we are brainstorming what God is calling us to do next with our time, our talents and gifts, our particular passions, building space and location, human-being power, and resources (as we all do in church around those strategic planning meetings and council sessions) eventually the caveat comes . . . loud and clear it is iterated. . . make no mistake, it means something, "Did you hear that the price of gas is up to $3.59!"  That's what it was at the Marathon as well as the BP station I passed while shuttling my brood back and forth today through the snow to their extracurricular events. $3.59!  Well, I guess that it's better than the $4+ a gallon of a while back.  That really stank, didn't it?!  But it's not quite as good as a few weeks ago when it dipped under three bucks a gallon for a quick minute.

But let's think about this rationally (is that is okay to do?):  
Gas has been hovering around $3.29 or $3.39 lately so to fill my stupid gas hog, idiotic Chevy Trailblazer (we have issues that go beyond gasoline, she and I) it costs about 65-70 dollars for 20 gallons.
To be precise, if gas is $3.29 it costs me $65.80 to fill up.  If it is on the high end at $3.59 then we are talking $71.80.  That is a difference of $6.  Six dollars in a week.   Cause for alarm?  I'm not so sure.  What do you waste six dollars on each and every week and don't even think a thing about it? A Cafe Latte or two? A deliciously unhealthy Big Mac Meal?  A Subway sub and chips?  Maybe, a pack of Marlboro Lights?  Or a six pack of beer?  Come on, be honest now.  What is it?

But. . . when gas gets to a certain threshold per gallon, I'm sure quite what that number is. . . we gasp in shock and horror!  Anxiety ripples through the room!  Oh no, what will we do?  (Now I know my critics will say, "Yes but all of life is connected, you said so yourself a million times, and if gas goes up then so does everything else."  But we don't notice "everything else." We don't show up at church and say, "Bread is now $2.99 a loaf!" Gasp! Cough! Choke!)  It's only gasoline that does this to us! How can gasoline have so much emotional power over us?  How can we allow BP, Sunoco and Marathon make us FEEL this anxious?

And just an aside. . .I haven't seen too many people carpooling it to church to save on gas!  For that matter I haven't seen too many people doing without just to save for the trip to the Marathon.  It's simply a matter of expressing our collective anxiety over things that we cannot control. That's what I think it means when we say, "Did you see the price of gas is now $3.59?"  Whoa!  It is our way of conveying our anxiousness over lots of things we cannot control.

By the way, "Did you see the price of kosher salt?  It's $1.19 now!"  Just kidding. . . it's still around a dollar a box and by the way it's the best salt for cooking, bar none!

So relax.  Take a deep breath.  Put it all in perspective.  And don't let the oil moguls ramp up your anxiety by talking about rising gas prices.  Have a mochachino and be on your merry way!  God bless!

Image credit: en.wikipedia.org