“The reason many people in our society are miserable, sick, and highly stressed is because of an unhealthy attachment to things they have no control over.” (Steve Maraboli)
I was waiting for a recovery meeting to start the other day when someone suddenly made their cell phone’s alarm go off quite noticeably, all for the sole purpose of letting everyone there know it was past the time when it was supposed to begin. Another fellow attendee then abruptly yelled at this individual from across the room, telling them in an extremely angrily fashion to cut it out. The loud alarm was then promptly shut off, leaving both markedly tense and unhappy. I, on the other hand, simply smiled through the entire incident, maintaining a constant level of serenity. I wasn’t always like this though. Plenty of times throughout my life, I’ve been in the shoes of both of these people, doing everything I could to take control of things that ultimately were out of my control. All that ever did for me though was stress me out and cause my mind and body to grow unhealthier. This is precisely why I do my absolute best to let any of those things go now, even when they aren’t meeting my ego’s expectations of what I think they should or shouldn’t be. And thankfully, I can say I feel a lot more peaceful today because of it.
I pray that I may have the wisdom to know when it’s best for me to let go of control and I pray that when I do know that, I will practice acceptance instead.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson