You have more control than you think
Israeli forces shell UN headquarters in Gaza.
Foreclosures up 81 percent: RealityTrac.
World stocks drop amid mounting economic gloom.
Hey! Now what did I just tell you about refusing to be afraid?
Things are a little dicey at the day job. It also wasn't such a good day Wednesday at Sweetie's day job. We looked at each other last night and said, well, at least we personally each still have a job/source of income for now.
Long ago I managed to learn a simple truth: Certain things are out of my control. But more is under my control than my fears would like me to believe. And again — a lot of folks are trying to fan the cold flames of our fears and offer salvation — salvation which just happens to make them more powerful and comfortable.
Clichés become clichés by containing more than a nugget of truth: The truth is having the courage to change the things you can change, the serenity to accept the things you can't, and the wisdom to know the difference. Sometimes my courage, serenity and wisdom fail me, but here is the underlying truth behind the nugget: You have more control than you think.
That's the fact that the fear-mongers don't want you to know — or (to give them the benefit of the doubt) they believe most people aren't as capable of control as they are. In the former case, they are simple villains who prefer people to be hoodwinked and manageable. In the latter case, they instinctively believe they are superior beings who know better than you about how your life should be running.
To free yourself to dream, it's essential to shake off the fears and it's vital to shake off the influence of those who offer themselves as a path away from what frightens you. Relinquishing control is the path away from freedom; fear is the path to relinquishing control. Fear is the mind-killer — fear makes you give your autonomy away.
Minute by minute, day by day, month by month, year by year for a lifetime, you make a series of choices that add up to the who-what-where-why-how of you. Each choice is fully and wholy yours. You are in control even when you turn the controls over to someone or something else. You always have the power to take the wheel back.
Foreclosures up 81 percent: RealityTrac.
World stocks drop amid mounting economic gloom.
Hey! Now what did I just tell you about refusing to be afraid?
Things are a little dicey at the day job. It also wasn't such a good day Wednesday at Sweetie's day job. We looked at each other last night and said, well, at least we personally each still have a job/source of income for now.
Long ago I managed to learn a simple truth: Certain things are out of my control. But more is under my control than my fears would like me to believe. And again — a lot of folks are trying to fan the cold flames of our fears and offer salvation — salvation which just happens to make them more powerful and comfortable.
Clichés become clichés by containing more than a nugget of truth: The truth is having the courage to change the things you can change, the serenity to accept the things you can't, and the wisdom to know the difference. Sometimes my courage, serenity and wisdom fail me, but here is the underlying truth behind the nugget: You have more control than you think.
That's the fact that the fear-mongers don't want you to know — or (to give them the benefit of the doubt) they believe most people aren't as capable of control as they are. In the former case, they are simple villains who prefer people to be hoodwinked and manageable. In the latter case, they instinctively believe they are superior beings who know better than you about how your life should be running.
To free yourself to dream, it's essential to shake off the fears and it's vital to shake off the influence of those who offer themselves as a path away from what frightens you. Relinquishing control is the path away from freedom; fear is the path to relinquishing control. Fear is the mind-killer — fear makes you give your autonomy away.
Minute by minute, day by day, month by month, year by year for a lifetime, you make a series of choices that add up to the who-what-where-why-how of you. Each choice is fully and wholy yours. You are in control even when you turn the controls over to someone or something else. You always have the power to take the wheel back.
Labels: refuse to be afraid
posted by B.W. Richardson at
7:49 AM
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