Control

It seems like an awful lot of time is spent on trying to get things under control. In some ways that's true - life requires alot of discipline, effort and willingness to participate. But alot of times that "control" thing can become an illusory effort to make things in life different than what they are, it becomes yet another tool of wishful thinking to avoid the present.

The fact is - we do our best and life is life. Agility in life requires that we are able to think outside the box when needed, able to bend this way when needed, or that way when needed. Flexibilty is needed and flexibility is not a component of control.

The strongest people in life are the ones who recognize what is really within their power and what really is not. Can you change an earthquake? A tornado? A tsunami? No. Can you change an accident? Life is a condition of continual change and your biggest strength is when you recognize that you can do you best and still not be able to control it all, but you CAN control yourself. So you can't make heavy weather conditions change, but you can definitely control your response. So you can't control what other people say or do, but you can definitely control your response. You can't control so many, many things in this life, but you can always control your response to it. The loss of a job doesn't need to send you to skid row, an earthquake doesn't need to ruin your life. Things happen and your strength lies in your knowledge (and subesequent use) of the fact that you ARE in total control of how you respond.

There is a simple way to look at it: if you are trying to control outcomes - it is a fruitless effort. If you are trying to control your response - you have just become the king/queen of the world. I invite you to meditate on some of your actions and see if you can differentiate between trying to control outcomes or trying to control your response.
This is the gift of life, because in it you relinquish the illusion that you can make everything perfect and you give yourself the opportunity to sink yourself into gratitude for what is.

Blessings.
- Darshan

© 2009 Darshan F Jessop