One of the most pernicious and common addictions today is the need to be in control. The Twelve Step programme is not just for recovery from drink or drugs but can help us with psychological dependency too.
It’s the twelfth month of the year and how are you doing on those new year’s resolutions or those things that you’ve been meaning to change in your life? We all know how hard it is to let go of our attachments. In fact we’re often addicted to them.
I’d like to share an extract from a book by Rami Shapiro which describes how the wisdom of the Twelve Step programme (used most famously by Alcoholics Anonymous) can apply to any area of our life where we are experiencing some form of addiction. And who isn’t addicted to something?
One of the most pernicious and common addictions today is the need to be in control.
Here’s Rami’s perspective…
. . . “As long as you maintain the illusion of control, you are fine, but eventually and inevitably life slips out of control, and you are faced with a very difficult choice: Quit playing God, and abandon the delusion of life’s controllability, or find some way to escape reality and maintain the illusion that you are in control.
Most of us opt for the latter. Rather than admit that we are powerless over life, we redouble our efforts to regain control. This is like a hamster on a wheel who, wishing to get off the wheel, keeps running faster, hoping in that way to come to the end that much sooner. . . .
Recognising life’s fundamental unmanageability leads to freedom if we realise that our inability to control life is not the same as having no way to meaningfully navigate it. Just because I can’t control the sea doesn’t mean I can’t learn how to swim in it. Just because I can’t manage the wind doesn’t mean I can’t tap into its power. Just because I can’t manage my life doesn’t mean I can’t live it justly and with compassion. Manageability and control are beyond me, but living wisely and well are not.”
Extract from Seeds of Wisdom – a free monthly newsletter from Sacred Life.
Used with permission.
