Control
This Thursday, my commute home was over twice the normal amount of time—it took 10 minutes to even leave the parking garage. There was an NFL game, the president was in town, and there were major accidents on the highway. As I looked for openings in between cars and tried to maneuver the fastest, most efficient route, I started thinking about control. What we can and can’t control, and how efforts to control the uncontrollable end up controlling us. (I know—it’s a tongue twister.)
I can’t control the traffic on my drive home; I just have to sit—patiently or otherwise—in the line of cars waiting to get on the freeway. I do have a choice though, in where I direct my energy. If I am stuck on trying to outsmart uncontrollable traffic, I might make it home two minutes sooner, but I’m guaranteed to feel vastly more frustrated. My attempts at control take on a life of their own.
With the election next year, the current war in Gaza, and thousands of migrants arriving in my city, I start to feel overwhelmed by the forces shaping these events; they feel out of my control. And to be honest, my reaction, sadly, has been to do nothing. While I can’t control the traffic, I fought so hard to try to shorten my inevitably lengthened drive home, but I have not done anything to act on my values of peace and justice.
It's easy to get caught up in focusing on the largely uncontrollable but personally relevant events, and to ignore or avoid the more distant and similarly uncontrollable events. Yet, if I am honest with myself, the actions I can take as a single concerned citizen (calling my representative, donating to or volunteering with organizations serving migrants, voting for candidates whose policies I support) are at least as impactful as those I might take as a frustrated driver in rush hour traffic.
Creator, we know we are so small in this wide universe. And yet, we seek to do the work of your kingdom on earth. Help us to put our energy toward those actions that move our world toward more justice and more peace.
Elizabeth is a Peace member who now lives in Chicago, where she spends time working, running, and connecting with loved ones (human and animal alike).