A CONSCIOUS LIVING PRACTICE FOR TODAY – DECEMBER 15

year of living copyDetermine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way. — Abraham Lincoln

UNDER CONTROL

Laura writes: About ten years ago, I had a serious car accident. Sitting at a red light in a small car, I was hit by a tractor-toting truck. For months after the accident, I was anxious, and, although I still drove, I found it to be a fearsome activity. It wasn’t until I accepted the accident—the meaning of the accident—that my comfort returned. In my case, acceptance sounded something like this: Bad things can happen randomly. I might die in the next hour. I am going to die at some point, no doubt about it. Until then, I am going to live in recognition of these truths. Every day is going to be lived with the recognition that it may be my last; because of that, I don’t have time for anything less than truth and love and real connection.

Now, with time and distance on my side, I can muse on it with more of a philosophical view; the thing that is most striking to me is that I often insisted, back then, that I had things under control, and the accident illustrated that control had me. It’s an interesting phrase, under control. You are, in fact, under it, and your job is to shake it off, emerge out into life where the unpredictable, the awful, the magnificent happens, humbling you and encouraging you to let go of your attempts at controlling the universe. All you have to do is pay attention and you’ll hear the message: Control is a tough mistress. Better to lose her and find your sense of abandon and joy instead.

A CONSCIOUS LIVING PRACTICE FOR TODAY – DECEMBER 15

Identify an area in your life where you try to exert rigid control—often with poor results. Today, trying letting go at three different levels. To let go, what you will do is repeat an affirmation, feeling yourself as you release your grip on something that cannot be gripped.

  • Mind: I recognize with my logical self that the universe has its reasons.
  • Heart: I recognize with my emotional self that the universe has its reasons.
  • Body: I recognize with my physical self that the universe has its reasons.

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