Control/CONTROL

Today I am grateful for trusted service providers our community has and for the lessons of letting go.

Speaking of letting go, I was talking with some fellow recovering people the other day on the topic of control. That's a doozy. Pretty much the opposite of letting go. The consensus: we sure couldn't control our drinking, but we tried pretty hard to control everything else.

These two acrostics came to mind; the first about unhealthy control, the second about healthy control:

C=compulsive
O=obsessive
N=neurotic
T=tyrannical
R=restless
O=oblivious
L=lacking

C=compassionate
O=observant
N=noticing
T=teachable
R=rational
O=open-minded
L=loving

Unhealthy control is about trying to manipulate others, outcomes, situations. It is all those things above in the first acrostic, but especially makes me oblivious to other people and their feelings and leaves me lacking any sense of peace and serenity.

Healthy control is all of those things in the second acrostic, allowing me to focus on what I can control: my own attitude and actions. And allowing me to stay mindful and present. Just like gratitude does.