Control

You are late for work. You are fired from work. You can’t find a babysitter. You have to babysit on your only day off. You are given too much. You are not given enough. You are stuck in the rain. You are stuck in the house. Have a complaint? Pick one and put it here__________________.

I notice that we are often affected by a multitude of barriers that come to exist before us as we walk this path called life. We often run into situations that require our attention and either demand a positive or negative reaction in the process. How will I react to those things around me that have caused me to change in some way without my permission? How will we approach this thing or this person that has selfishly taken away our ability to find peace?

The real question is however, how much control are you willing to give over to these situations? How much of your peace are you willing to sacrifice? How much energy are you going to devote to this thing? How far are you willing to take this? Every time I think about anger issues, frustration, complaints and just situations in general, I cannot help but to also think of control. Will this situation typify us? Will it take us out of our element so that we become different people? Will it cause us to physically transform ourselves? Will it change our minds? We often look at circumstances as an external thing. It is either about an outside force against us, or a person outside of us. The truth is however; that the only power such elements have against you is the power you give it. Sometimes I look at situations that I believe are not as bad as some, but I marvel at how drastically the person has allowed the situation to change them.

It is not the reflections of others staring back at you when you look in the mirror, it is you staring back at you. You will always be your worst enemy or your best friend. The battles that take place in our lives are of our own making. They are a result of choices that we made. Even those things that are thrust upon us without permission can only grow according to our reaction to it.