How often we hear people say that they have lost control of their lives or how unlucky they have been that this or that has happened to them. I understand this response given the version of ‘life’ and ourselves that is implanted by what we call society. We are led to believe that we are victims of circumstance beyond our control and that poor old me is suffering because of what someone else did or didn’t do. If only he, she, they, had not acted as they did we would not be in this mess. How could they? How beastly they are.
However tempting it may be to apportion and externalise blame for our plight, I wonder if it is really justified. After all, the best way to make people powerless is to convince them they are powerless and the most effective way to do that is to sell them the belief that circumstances outside their control are dictating their life experience.
