Release the Need to Feel in Control of Everything

Today I was on my way down from my apartment to the ground floor. On the way my elevator picked up a gentleman on the 8^th floor. He got in, and pushed the ground floor button even though it was lit up. I was intrigued by this as it is not the first time I have noticed this same action. I thought to myself, did he push it due to habit? Or is more related to control, does he feel like he must push the button in order to “make sure” he will get to where he needs to go.  Everyone wants control of their life....which makes sense. However, more and more I am beginning to place my trust in the Universe and allow myself to flow in the river of life. I believe control issues come up when we are resisting situations that are coming our way and we are fearful of the future. Many disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia, obsessive compulsive disorder all stem from the need to feel in control. I am not too familiar with OCD but from what I know people come up with rituals and need to do everything the exact same way to prevent a mishap. For example Mr. A is afraid that when he leaves his house, something could go wrong, so he spends an hour double and triple checking that the oven is off, all the plugs are unplugged, the switches are off. So how do we release these fears? How do we release the need to be in control?

Fear is something that I have thought a lot about. A person who I have grown up with and is very close to me is a very fearful person. This person is afraid of birds attacking her, afraid of getting in an accident that she couldn’t prevent, afraid of flying, and the list goes on. It can be exhausting to be around. Perhaps I have grown up to see her live in fear so I have taken the opposite approach and have released all or any fear. I think the main fear is of dying and these are just sub fears that could end up in death. I would love to learn more about how people in other cultures perceive death because one thing we can guarantee in our life is that we will die. This should not be something that we are fearful of as it is the circle of life. So how can we promote living life and not be afraid of living because we are afraid of dying?