Even
the most OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) person will tell you, he can keep
all his shirts pressed, color coded, and equidistant apart in his closet, but
he can’t tell the sun to shine or dance for the rain to fall. In short, we have
precious little control over the goings on in our lives. What exactly do we
have control of, and how can we take that precious control and make it calm our
minds and hearts about the future? Imagine that you look at life through the
lens of a video camera. All that is going on is being played out as if on a
movie screen in front of you. If you can imagine this scenario, then you know
that the one person you don’t see on the screen is YOU! That is because you are
the director of your life.
Now,
let’s imagine that the show viewed in front of you is a baby playing with a toy
on the living room carpet. If you took that scene and played a spooky, haunting
music clip behind it, you might think that the baby is in impending danger.
However, if you played “Music Box Dancer” behind it, then you may feel joyous.
In other words what is superimposed onto the scene in front of you comes from
the director—You! If something tragic happens in your life, and the music that
you play or the voice over is something positive and peaceful, such as: “I’m
not sure why this is happening, but I know I’ll be safe and provided for;”
then, you are more likely not to react frantically or irrationally.
I
was driving home with my friend Sharon. She noticed that a car in front of me
three different times had acted crazily. She said, “If that were me, I would
have gotten upset and beeped my horn.” I said, “Sharon, how much life do you
want to lose over something you can’t control? I figure that I make driving
errors all the time, and people have to put up with me. I’ll just let them
slide and give them the benefit of the doubt. Besides, I can’t control what
happens to me when I’m driving. I can only drive defensively and hope the rest
of the world does too.” She laughed. “Good point!” Sharon gets that I don’t let
much rattle me. I decided long ago that with my “precious little control” I was
going to try to set the scene with peace and joy and laughter. That’s much more
my style and befitting for the moment.
My
dear readers, you can’t control the elements, the people around you, or God; so
don’t waste your precious life and joy trying to.
If
you are stuck in the middle of a tornado, duck into a bathtub. If you have a
partner in relationship that is bugging you with some attitude or behavior that
is irritating, then just simply ask him/her to stop. If your query is met with
bitching and ranting, then move on. If you think you can tell God when you are
going to die, you have not experienced much of life. Children, friends, and
family die unexpectedly all the time. We have absolutely no control over it.
But
what I learn each time death happens is that I have wasted way too much time trying
to control what I can’t. I also learn that today is the time to do what makes
me happy. Use your precious control to change the one person that matters—YOU!
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