Master

Day 88. Master.

Richard talks a lot about being in charge of our own lives. That goes against what we are taught, which is our fates are inescapable and predetermined. While the outcome will always end in our death, I do not believe that God intends for us to just surrender and let things happen. I think we are to make our own decisions and deal with the rewards and the punishments they bring. Captains of our own ships, right?

Never had I understood that I command, with absolute authority, the ship of my life! I decide its mission and rules and discipline, at my word waits every tool and sail, every cannon, the strength of every soul on board. I’m master of a team of passionate skills to sail me through hell’s own jaws the second I nod the direction to steer. Richard Bach: Running from Safety.

I spent a decent portion of my life forgetting that I alone am the master of my fate. I also spent those same years letting others make choices for me. Whatever they wanted, just to keep the peace. No more fighting, I had decided against that when I was in my teens. I would do whatever I could to just swallow whatever I wanted to say, or how I felt, just to stop an argument. Nobody ever wins one anyway, so why throw all your feelings onto the table just so everyone can walk away a loser?

I'd say the last dozen years are where I finally decided to protect myself, I had to speak up. Not that I've ever been wont to be silent, I'd surprisingly bitten my tongue many times. And every time I did that, I felt a little piece of myself die. Every missed chance to be "me" was another dream I was surrendering, another chance to laugh gone away. And it caused problems, of course. Nobody like change, and when someone you love begins acting in a way you're not used to, it upsets things. What most don't realize is that by showing others we are not slaves but masters, we are giving them a gift. A chance to see the real us, the full potential of what we can be.

When we realize that we can no longer control someone, we should also look at the other side of that coin and see that they no longer control us. Control is a tool of the weak, used to fool themselves into believing they are strong. When you take away that power, bring yourself on equal footing, you are no longer a slave. And they are no longer a master.

Lesson Eighty Eight: Do you surrender your life to the power of others? Are you in control of your own life, or does controlling someone else's make you feel like you are? Think about the times you've forced others to pull the oars, you were still the master of the ship. With great power comes great responsibility.

642 to go...