Читать книгу Meditations for Pain Recovery - Tony Greco - Страница 59

FEBRUARY 18

CONTROL

EMOTIONAL BALANCE

“Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.”

Thomas à Kempis

Think of a handful of sand—the harder I try to hold on to it, and the more I squeeze, the faster the grains run through my fingers. Trying to exert control over people and events in my life is like trying to hold onto a handful of sand; the more I squeeze, the less I end up with.

I have control over what I say and do; pretty much everything else in the world is out of my control. I may influence people with words and actions, but I don’t have control over them.

I can make plans, but I can’t control the results. I do “the footwork” and leave the results up to my higher power. The knowledge that I am not in control is actually a great relief. When I stop believing I control the outcomes of my efforts, and just try to do the next right thing, my emotional state becomes more relaxed. Knowing I’m responsible only for my actions, and not for the results of my actions, is a source of emotional balance in my recovery.

It is important to be loving and good to myself by taking an honest look at what I have control over and surrendering what I don’t.