One of the most amazing capabilities of the human mind is the imagination. However, this great ability brings certain difficulties, not least of which is being able to imagine our own mortality. It’s this existential fear which underlies most, if not all, other specific fears. Whilst very few people actually believe it’s possible to escape death, most of us find it difficult to face the reality of our own mortality. We seem to have no control over such significant events as our own birth or death. The apparent randomness and chaos of the universe has driven human beings to pursue ways of living which enable them to cope with all the daily uncertainties which arise. Over the course of several hundred years we have moved from strategies based on beliefs in supernatural forces which are in control of everything to ones based on beliefs that human beings can be in control of everything. In effect, we’ve seen the decline of religion’s power to give a sense of things being in control and a rise in the belief that science endows humans with such power.
In many cultures the supernatural forces in control of everything are not necessarily benevolent, and even when they are considered to be benevolent their actions are still not predictable. In attempts to assuage the feelings of fear and uncertainty rituals and sacrifices were created to try to influence the actions of the gods. Even with the emergence of monotheistic religions based on a belief in a loving Creator God, human beings were still not able to predict His actions. At best, a Christian, Jew or Muslim, finds peace of mind by letting go of the pursuit of predictability and certainty by trusting that God is benevolent and all will not only be well, but all that happens is, as God wishes, the best for us. Fundamentalists of all flavours, however, do not seem comfortable to leave Life and the World to God, but instead feel driven to impose strict behaviours and even thought patterns on believers and non-believers alike.
With the Renaissance and the developments of rationalism and the “scientific method”, human beings began to believe they could develop deep understandings of life and the universe. We began to use observations, logic and experiment to create “laws” based on highly predictable patterns. We have pursued this path relentlessly for the last 400 years. This shift in focus from the supernatural to the natural has, however, been focused on the same goal – the minimisation of uncertainty, and the parallel maximisation of feelings of control. Physicists still pursue the “theory of everything” in an attempt to use that understanding to control everything.
But control is still beyond our grasp. We are still mortal. None of us can know the exact span of our lives in advance and we find we can neither control ourselves nor others. We can neither predict nor determine the future, at any level – individual, communal or global. At an individual level we drive away the fear of chaos and unpredictability by settling into routines and rituals. One of my favourite novels of all time is “Rituals”, by Cees Nooteboom, (ISBN 1-86046-048-8), a story of a father and son who each have their powerful (and constraining) ways of imposing their personal power on their own lives through ritual, in the father’s case, through a strict set of time set routines which establish the value of punctuality as the highest of all his values, and in the son, through his fascination with Japanese pottery, and the tea ceremony. We all need routines and rhythms to our lives but when the need for control dominates these routines can become obsessions and compulsions, limiting our lives instead of stimulating growth.
At the communal level we seem to be moving fast towards George Orwell’s nightmare “1984” vision of increasing surveillance and attempts to control “unhealthy behaviours” whilst experiencing increasing levels of chronic disease and crime. A day or two after I started to write this post I read a review of Jim Jarmusch’s new movie “Limits of Control” where the author cited an essay by William Burroughs as the source of the movie’s title. (see “how to make a zombie” )
In recent years governments have acted as if they have the power to control global phenomena when all they have is actually the power to make an impact. The consequences of each action, of each impact, turn out to be both unpredictable and uncontrollable. We see this in War (Iraq, Afghanistan etc); we see it in the economy (credit crunch, “boom and bust” cycles, the fall of the “Masters of the Universe”); we see it in climate change; we see it in rising levels of crime, drug abuse, and chronic disease.
Control is a delusion.
It was a delusion when human beings thought they could influence supernatural forces and it remains a delusion when human beings think they can control individual, social or global phenomena.
It’s frightening to be “out of control”. Yet, the relentless pursuit of more control just creates more and more anxiety as at our deepest levels we realise control continuously escapes our grasp. A greater risk from this control agenda is that we create ever more zombies, and lose our chance to become ever more human.
It’s time for a new direction. We have to replace the pursuit of control with something else. Something more real, and, therefore, something more to likely support human life, and to encourage development.
What might the new direction be? A shift from increasing control to increasing resilience. Letting go of the pursuit of certainty and relishing the experience of the present, the wonder of life and the excitement of creation. Moving towards an agenda of adaptability and sustainability, of quality over quantity. Pursuing diversity instead of standardisation and valuing continual, dynamic experience over goals and outcomes.
The End of Control
May 12, 2009 by bobleckridge
I wonder about how the conversation would shift if we released the concept of “control” and instead focused on being active and mindful participants in our lives.
There’s a huge difference between being proactive and being reactive. We tend to think that being proactive – being in control – is far more desirable, but the truth is that there are a zillion things that happen that are entirely out of our sphere of influence. Here’s where I turn to Taoist teaching; releasing the illusion of control and, instead, focusing on aligning myself – my ideas and expectations, my thoughts and behaviors – to the situation allows me to waste less energy fighting against that which I cannot control and, instead, gives me an opportunity to really EXPERIENCE what’s happening.
Case in point: My mother is dying. She cannot control the rate at which this happens, but she can be an active and mindful participant in the process. She can observe and experience the changes in her body and her spirit as she exits this life, and she can share those experiences and observations with those around her. Would I prefer that she not be dying? OF COURSE! The depth and complexity that this experience brings to MY life is almost greater than my skill at applying language to it. My point, though, is that it would be pointless and wasteful for me to rail against the fact. It’s happening and there’s nothing I or anyone else can do about it. I’m on this ride until the end, so my focus is to be aware through all of it, to learn and grow as much as I can as a result of it, and to share what I learn with others so that the experience ripples out from me. Really, it’s all I CAN do.
thank you for this mrschili, as ever, you’re spot on. I completely agree.
“active and mindful” is sure a good definition of the opposite of zombie! And yes, it’s so true that even the experiences (or maybe especially the experiences) which are most painful and we’d most wish to have had the option NOT to have (or endure) are often the ones with the greatest potential to contribute to our growth.
You are one amazing person. Goodness knows how more amazing you’re going to be this time next year!!
You have written an excellent article and made precise and accurate points. Very good thoughts, yes, we must relinquish the quest for control otherwise we will squeeze the life out of this planet.
I once had a patient who lived in an iron lung for many years. She never left the house, yet she had a wonderful life. It was her imagination that set her free.
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[…] 18, 2009 by bobleckridge If control is a delusion, and it’s pursuit is ultimately futile, what would be a better strategy? Given the complexity of […]
I read this to the voice of Morgan Freeman.. good stuff 🙂
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