Evan commented yesterday that taking control of my life is not accurate.  He phrased it nicer.  Life happens.  My participation when I have victim thinking is a bit like driftwood tossed into a raging river.  Healthier thinking, I am a person on that driftwood with my hands paddling like mad to get to where I think I want to go.  I released the ‘have to’s and changed them to ‘want to’ or ‘chooses to’ or ‘no’.  It is a challenge to keep myself from sinking back to that piece of driftwood being tossed to and fro.  Driftwood doesn’t worry about where it is going.  The biggest wave pushes it around.  And where it ends up, doesn’t matter.  Now, I make choices instead of jumping to follow orders that can be random and/or arbitrary.  I may still do what someone else asks me to do but I chose to do it.  I am recognizing that I have choices.  I have rights as a human being.  I can put boundaries in place.  I can protect my boundaries.  I have an opinion.  I am not just a mirror reflecting back what someone else wants to see.  The challenge of thriving is building a boat out of that driftwood, adding a sail and a rudder and using the stresses in life as a way to propel my craft forward into a vibrant alive future.  Thriving is where I am headed…but I’ll work on it tomorrow.  Good night.