The willingness to surrender

 

 

It may surprise you to know that most of your suffering has been caused by your thoughts and reactions. Strange as it may sound, it's true. Most people have been conditioned to be afraid, to not listen their intuition, to buy into the story that the world is not a loving, safe place that will support you, so if you want something, you have to take control and make it happen. 

 

You may feel that you always have to be on guard to protect yourself, which equates to closing your heart off. Because you are afraid and have not yet accepted that Life is wiser than you, you attempt to control your circumstances through struggle, force, and manipulation, all which will sabotage the very thing you desire.

 

As much as you may pride yourself on being smart, your intellect is not a replacement for wisdom. This is how ego tricks you into a another bad decision...thinking you know the right answer. 

 

Hopefully, suffering will wake you up from your futile attempts.
 

It is our nature to surrender when the pain gets great enough. Surrender means "I don't know the answers, I'm tired of trying to do it my way, and I am willing to give all the responsibility to a Power great than myself".

 

******

Surrendering...

you can't

fake authentic

surrender

 

for it is the

moment you

unclench your hands...

accept what is

and finally let go...

 

Kristen Jongen- "Growing Wings"

 

*****

Being humble

Teaching myself how to make appliques for tee shirts...

I have been driven many times upon my knees

by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go.

My own wisdom and that of all about me

seemed insufficient for that day.”  

― Abraham Lincoln

 

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Pain and surrender

Pain has been my teacher many times.

 

I believe whole-heartedly in the process of self-examination. For me, the pain of living life as I
once did, became too great to continue. There was no more denying my unhappiness, my
discomfort with myself, and an profound ache for something MORE.

It was pain that gave me the willingness to change - to become teachable (I was stubborn). Pain brought me to my knees, again and again. It wore my resistance down. I was used to being self-
reliant - which basically means that I didn't trust anyone but myself. I had some pretty unhealthy thinking back then, but didn't know it.

Pain, along with surrender, has been instrumental in changing the quality of my life. Looking
back, I see that I not only grew from my experiences, but I thrived.

If you're going through something difficult, remember to look for the gifts - what the
experience has to teach you. Is there something you need to change?

****

The man who views the world at fifty
the same as he did at twenty
has wasted thirty years of his life.

~Muhammad Ali

*****

"Life has new things to teach me if I am open to it"

Using our intuition

 

In the past...

I was guilty of ignoring the inner struggle...

between my conscience and self- will.

 

When...

I finally surrendered,

a whole new way of life opened up...

a beautiful life.

 

I learned to listen...

to the wise, whispering voice...

that had always been...

within me.

My intuition became...

my wise teacher...

my road map for living...

my trusted friend.

 

*****

 

 I am so thirsty for the marvelous... Anything I can not transform into something marvelous, I let go... 

― Anais Nin

*****

 

"I trust myself"

I surrender...

TWO of my favorite "bath tub" books are"Attempting Flight" and "Growing
Wings"- both written by author and artist- Kristen Jongen. Here's a sample of
 her book "Attempting Flight". She writes about her first experience taking her

 young daughter (who has an auto-immune disease) to a camp for disabled children.

   "Illness is not a secret-secret here... So, as my daughter had her first experience
away from home, we joined a new world- a world that is safe for her;
a world that understands her; a world where she can meet others going
through the same things.

I have been in the refuge camp, angry with God for making me feel isolated,
picked on and betrayed. I have been Mama Bear at her worst; furious.
 screaming, and enraged at the attack on her innocent cub. As we begin
to embrace this disease...there is solace... After a year of running, cursing, 
and blaming, the peace I have been looking for rest within. It is
a place where our family can look truth straight in the eye and instead
 of being horrified, feel mercy. And in that moment, I lay down our armor
and rest..."

****

I RELATE...many times I've had to lay down my sword, but not until I gave
 it a good fight...kicking, sobbing, bargaining...then when I have spent all my
energy resisting what I don't want to accept...I surrender.

*****

Having flown through my own limitations,  
it is impossible to ever-again live
contently on the ground.

K. Jongen

****

"I surrender my need to control my circumstances"

Acceptance is a source of grace

*****

"Acceptance of the unacceptable is the greatest source of grace..."

Surrender comes when you no longer ask "Why is this happening to me?"

Sometimes surrender means giving up trying to understand and becoming comfortable with not knowing.

Surrender...is the inner transition from resistance to acceptance...

Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle

*******

*****

"I will turn my will over"

Obsessive thinking

Love this one

Do you ever have obsessive thoughts? When the same thought plays over and over in your head and there's no quieting it? It seems to happen to me when I'm getting ready for bed. Just as I'm relaxing and drifting off to dream land, a thought pops in my mind. I try gently pushing it away, which only makes the thought more persistent. It's then followed up with a feeling of urgency that seems to have jumped into my body. Before I know it, this one thought is renting all the space in my head and my body is tense. So much for sleep, right ? The thought plays over and over and over... Fighting your thoughts only makes it worse. I've learned a little trick though. It's called "surrender". Surrender means to let go of worrying about changing the crazy thoughts and just accept that it happens. There's nothing else I need to do with it. And before I know it, it's time for morning coffee.

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Taken on one of my walks

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
― Melody Beattie

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"I am peaceful"