Control

       Control is a delusion of ego often driven by insecurity and fear. It’s also a limiting force. When we try to control our lives or the lives of other people, we’re trying to contain them, to make them fit into our narrow conception of what they should be. We want people to be what we want them to be, to think what we want them to think, to do what we want them to do. Rare are the people who genuinely want others to find the truer version of themselves. Rarer are the people who actually help them pursue it.  

       Our relationship with life is similar. We want it to be what we want it be, safe, prosperous, loving, fun, and peaceful, not what it often is, uncertain, treacherous, disappointing, brutal, and cruel. But these aren’t things we get to control. That doesn’t mean we have no choices. We can choose to grow through whatever circumstances come, ugly or lovely. What we can choose to seek meaning and turn lessons learned into ability to serve. What we can choose to mature, to recognize that while comfort is nice, it’s also an obstacle to growth. If a person really wants to find out who they are, it’s not going to come through comfort. It’s going to come through trial.