January week 1 Control

“It is not possible to control all external events; but if I simply control my mind, what need is there to control other things?”

—Śāntideva

When I discovered this quote, my immediate thought was how relevant it was to today’s world. Then I researched the author and saw how long ago it was written. Śāntideva (late 7th to mid-8th century CE) was a Buddhist monk, philosopher, and poet whose reflections on the overall structure of Buddhist moral commitments reach a level of generality and theoretical power that is hard to find elsewhere in Indian thought. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

This evidence of our proclivity to get caught up in the circumstances, people, or things, “the externals”, is obviously not a new trend. We humans have been wrestling with control for centuries and still do today. This New Year month of January, we turn our attention to what we can control and what we cannot control.

Imagine a life with more freedom, less stress from constant manipulation, and the ability to accept others as they are, is any of that even possible?  Repeating that last part of the sentence, accept others as they are. That is the starting point for this first week of January. Try being less reactive when someone says or does something that irritates you, not hurts you, irritates you. Even just adding a pause when it occurs, and it will, can guide you to think about becoming more accepting. Taking a deep breath then gives you the space you need. Remember every minute offers an opportunity to change, to stop, to reflect on my personal choice to not control others, or allow others to control me.