Out of Control

Feeling unable to control what is happening around us can make us crazy in our heads.  We cannot make our children do what we know they should.  We cannot influence our political leaders to act responsibly and fairly.   We cannot stop the degradation of our planet by the forces of rapacious greed.

The same is true in our day-to-day existence.  Traffic jams, flight delays, barking dogs, broken appliances.  Relentless chaos.

We often say we feel “out of control” or that we have “lost control.”  But this is all a big mistake.

The truth is that we didn’t “lose control” over things; we never possessed it to begin with.  We control nothing except how we choose to exist in our place and moment- right here and right now.  Everyone else, everything else, exists beyond the perimeters of our capacities.

This is not a recipe for giving up or indifference.  We must act and care.  As we model the life we choose to live, our children watch us.  As we act in the spirit of public service, we may inspire our neighbors.  Attending to another person with love and care is a very powerful thing.

What we do matters.  Each of us changes the world by our existence.  Just not according to some design or plan.

If we can give up our illusions of control, we might then devote ourselves to the one thing that is within our grasp- the opportunity to live with strength, focus, and a sure sense of self- moment to moment.

That’s all there is.  But it’s more than enough.