We want to control everything. That’s why some have a fear of flying. It seems out of control. Such a complex machine, so many ways it could fail. The pilots are just human. And there was once a case where an air traffic controller made a mistake and two planes crashed in mid-air…

We want to feel safe and there are two ways to achieve that: Control everything or trust.

We can’t control the proceedings of a flight, but we can trust that everyone involved is a professional, for instance.

But we have to die anyway. We can try to control it, live healthy, look into longevity, but in the end.. well, we will die. We have to let go of control, we have to trust that the universe is benevolent or despair that it may not be.

What if we let go of the fear today? Are we afraid that we will not step out of the way when the bus approaches? Or can we trust that some mechanism in us will make us avoid stepping in front of it? Or maybe a higher power will save us?

Besides, what if our alleged control is just an illusion? What if we are a watcher of a movie, who believes that he is influencing how the story unfolds?

I suppose it’s not important to answer any of those questions. But I believe it’s good to make peace with the fact that we cannot control some things and then we should just let it go. Either by trusting or by avoiding.

Of course I can avoid taking an airplane, but I won’t avoid living my life.