Choosing simple principles to live by suggests wisdom . . .

I am a proponent of simple principles as my guideposts for living.  One that greatly resonates with me is live and let live.  The wish to control other people can be so strong and seductive.

I have fought the urge to try to control others much of my life.  I think insecurity and fear is what prompts it.  But I know that every one of us is here to live out a very specific journey and I am not the camp director for any one else.  Since I have finally gotten the hang of letting go of others, I experience much longer periods of peace in a 24 hour day.  Giving up the idea that any one else is controllable releases me of a burden that use to weigh me down, a burden I didn’t even realize I was saddled with until I put it down.

I didn’t learn how to lay the burden down by myself, however.  I learned this from others I watched and listened to and respected in a 12 step program.  How lucky we are that we find each other in one way or another.  Whether it’s a 12 step group or some other support group, we are drawn into the company of those who have been sent to “teach us.”  And what we learn from them becomes ours to pass on.  We are always necessary to the circle, aren’t we?