Control

[CodieCW]

You are reading from the book The Language of Letting Go.
Melody Beattie ©


Many of us have been trying to keep the whole world in orbit with sheer and
forceful application of mental energy.

What happens if we let go, if we stop trying to keep the world orbiting and
just let it whirl? It'll keep right on whirling. It'll stay right on track
with no help from us. And we'll be free and relaxed enough to enjoy our
place on it.

Control is an illusion, especially the kind of control we've been trying to
exert. In fact, controlling gives other people, events, and diseases, such
as alcoholism, control over us. Whatever we try to control does have control
over our life and us.

I have given this control to many things and people in my life. I have never
gotten the results I wanted from controlling or trying to control people.
What I received for my efforts is an unmanageable life, whether that
unmanageability was inside me or in external events.

In recovery, we make a trade off. We trade a life that we have tried to
control, and we receive in return something better - a life that is
manageable.

Today, I will exchange a controlled life for one that is manageable.

©1990, Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. No portion of this
publication may be reproduced in any manner without the written permission
of the publisher.