Gratitude for realization that we have very little control

I'm not sure where to begin tonight.  My heart broke this morning as I listened to the news report re the children who were killed and seriously injured in a school bus accident in TN.  This one hit home.  I could identify with the happening.  Some of the parents, who lost children, had been proactive in compaints about the school bus driver yet in the end they had very little control.  In some instances, it's just hard to find things to be grateful for.  The press has taken a beating lately.  Perhaps we can be glad that they spotlighted the complexities of the situation.

Tonight I was on the phone with my daughter, who has a chronic illness.  She is broken up about the fact that she has so little control over her illness and when and for how long she might be able to be productive.  She has a family so there are certain things she must do.  Of course, Thanksgiving tomorrow and the Christmas holidays makes for an even more stressful situation.   Tonight, she was very sad that she has no control over when she feels good and when she is in debilitating pain, I was able to let go of my hard-driving, goal-oriented self, and say "That's true.".  You do not have control. I do not have control.  We do not have control.  Amazingly, it may have been part of the conversation that allowed her to put some distance between herself and the pain.  It was healing for me.