The Illusion of Control
There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We can reduce the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. For the rest of your life, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. – The Outer Limits opening narrative with a slight twist
We have such a strong conviction that we are in control. Of everything. Our bodies, our careers, our family, our car, our friends, our attitude, our garden, and even our planet. However, the illusion fades a little bit each time we hear about a tragic crash, the successful business man that falls into poverty, the killing of innocents, or a potentially terminal disease.
Earlier this year a good friend was diagnosed with MS. Yesterday I learned that a small lump removed from my mom’s breast was malignant and she may have to undergo more treatment to fight the cancer.
I find it particularly troubling that one’s own body can turn on itself and erase the illusion of control entirely. It makes me want to jump up and down screaming, “Not fair!”
April 11th, 2006 at 10:33 am
Sing it, brother!
I have always been extremely bothered by the idea of death, by dismemberment, paralysis, and the violation of the human body by knife, bullet or bomb. That we are all just walking around in vulnerable skin-sacs, with crushable things like “skulls” and “rib cages” protecting our essentials it just a bit much for me. It’s not fair, at all. And yes, when the body itself is a problem, with no known rhyme or reason, it is even worse in a way.
You can jump up and down and scream, if you like. We can tell people it was the baby if you do it in a high enough falsetto.
April 12th, 2006 at 4:29 am
I’m sorry to hear about your mother. Send me her name and I’ll put her on my daven list.
But in the meantime, oh yeah. Control. This is the season to think about it. The freedom God grants us when leaving Egypt comes with the understanding that everything is in God’s hands. Yet we still have to work hard and try to have the best lives we can even though anything we do can change at anytime. A step you can take after screaming and fighting is surrendering. You can always go back and fight it some more.
In the meantime, refuah shleimah.
April 24th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
Jay, I’m so sorry to hear about your mom. Please post/send her name so we can daven for her.
And kicking and screaming is good. Go ahead and kick the beeping stove…
April 25th, 2006 at 9:35 pm
Esther bat Hana
April 30th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
Any more news on your mom?
May 4th, 2006 at 7:58 am
The illusion of control is a necessary evil, in a way. Everyone would go crazy if they truely believed that there was no rhyme or reason to why they continue missing the eventual car wreck or random lightning strike. What else would be the point in living if we weren’t in some way convinced that there is a reason and purpose for our frail bodies living another day? We survive often enough to actually be surprised when we’re reminded of how delicate our conditions are; yet another reason to belive in a higher power. “Luck” can only carry one life so far. How else could continual existence be possible?
May 11th, 2006 at 8:08 am
Well said, Catherine.
I was just listening to a recent Quirks & Quarks episode where Dr. Seth Lloyd, author of Programming the Universe, was explaining a creation theory akin to the infinite monkeys typing at typewriters and producing hamlet. I didn’t really understand what he said, but the gist was the complexity of the universe came about because of the random processes we observe at the quantum level.
How unsatisfying is that?