Lose Control

“The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own.” -Epictetus

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” -Serenity Prayer

Do you want to improve the world?
I don’t think it can be done.

The world is sacred.
It can’t be improved.
If you tamper with it, you’ll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you’ll lose it.

The Master sees things as they are,
without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
and resides at the center of the circle. -excerpt from Verse 29, “Tai Te Ching” by Lao Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)

The only way to gain control is to lose control.

And if you’re at all worried about letting go, realize that you’ve never really been in control. You just were foolish to think you were. Enlightenment just means waking up to this. Carry on.