Rigidity Te Gift o By Lisa Hutchison


Rigidity can be used as a gift in handling life’s transitions when channeled properly. I am part of a family that has a lot of strong willed people and I feel proud to call myself one of them. Through my upbringing, I have seen and acted out the positive and negative aspects of rigidity. I remember my stepfather cutting off all communication to me even though we lived in the same house and ate at the same table for meals. It felt uncomfortable. It wasn’t the silence that was uncomfortable but rather his attempts to try to control and change me.


The inability to let go becomes harmful when it interferes with our ability to move forward in life and to grow. It is also detrimental when it tries to control another to act or think differently. This can be done directly by telling others what to do by bullying them or indirectly through complaints and passive aggressive silent treatments. My response in the past was to rebel to rigidity because I refused to be controlled. The rebellion was expressed in a healthy way when I was taking a stand for who I am and what I believe in. It turned unhealthy when I was reacting to others and not speaking to them.


October/November 2012


God, Grant Me the Serenity to Accept the Things I Cannot Change


Under times of stress and change, rigidity can intensify. Behaving in a rigid way gives a person the feeling of control over other people and situations. This is all an illusion. People will think and act differently than we would like them to. Situations will unfold according to God’s plan and not our own. I cannot make others act more flexible, cooperative or easy going. I have learned that others cannot change me and I cannot change them. Thinking about it, I don’t want to change others because God made us all individuals for a reason. We


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