For the majority of my life, “Surrender” has been a dirty word. It seemed that everywhere I looked, the right way, the only way, was the hard way. Never give up. Never give in. Never surrender.
But as I grow in this life, I am witnessing a different interpretation of this word. There is so much strength to be gained in surrender. To be flexible like water, not hard like a rock. (Actually, I think that might be a quote from Bruce Lee.)
Now, I would define surrender as honesty and humility. Acknowledging that not everything has to be done alone and not every accomplishment requires a sacrifice of joy and soul. Once I relax into surrender, I gift those around me (and the universe itself) the ability to show grace and love. It is not as I instinctively believed to be giving up. In truth, it is being vulnerable and afraid AND showing up anyway. As a fully certified control freak, this is no small task. My inner voice screams, “I am an island and I need nothing and no one!”
But that is not the voice of my soul. That is the voice of my fear. True surrender allows my soul to breathe, letting me stand powerful in grace and acceptance. It is having faith that I am enough as I am. There is nothing for me to fix or mend. There is a Higher Power who can take care of the heavy lifting of righting all the wrongs in my world.
Today, my Higher Power says to me, “Relax kid. Today, you get a break. Just surrender.”
- M.R.
