“Very little grows on jagged rock.
Be ground. Be crumbled,
so wildflowers will come up
where you are.
You have been stony for too many years.
Try something different.
Surrender.” ~Rumi
It feels as though this pandemic is showing us the many ways we’ve been too jagged, too hard and driven, too busy and on task, for far too long.
Seems we’re all being invited to course correct and try something different. It’s as though the universe is whispering (more like, screaming at the top of her lungs) TRY THE ‘S’ WORD: SURRENDER.
Surrender, not as in, wave the white flag, pick up your toys and go home. But rather, let go of your tired old ways of being and doing. Take your sticky mitts off life’s steering wheel and listen for something new to emerge. Dip a little piggy toe into unknown waters. Peek into the mystery.
Just please don’t keep going the way you’ve been going.
I think the idea of surrender feels sort of scary at first. Who likes leaning into the unknown? Leaping without knowing if a net will appear?
In my humble experience, once you stop being freaked out about it all, it’s actually a welcome place to land.
You get to pause and remember you’re ultimately not in charge. You get to reach out to powers greater than yourself. You’re free to ask for help and imagine new possibilities instead of fixating on the same old, same old.
Surrender allows more breathing room. You don’t have to figure everything out. You don’t have to be right or even know what you’re doing. You don’t have to try so damn hard, rush around so damn fast or hustle to justify your existence.
And…..therein lies the practice. The practice of unfurling our adorable, tense and tortured selves and deciding we no longer want to live as little balls of angst (bummer….just as angst balls are surging in popularity).
Whenever I’m able to access this place of surrender, my body responds right away: my shoulders drop down from my ears, my jaw relaxes, eyes soften and hands release. My legs stop gripping. I feel more open and curious, even amused.
This whole life thing is an experiment. No one has all the answers nor does anyone really know how it all works. (oops, did I just let the cat out of the bag?)
It’s why surrender feels like a grand invitation to crumble a little and lean into mystery a lot….to let go of what’s stale and constrictive and open up. Hold things lightly. Invite more ease. Ask more questions.
What if surrender is a portal through which new seeds could be planted, and from those seeds, creativity, joy and fresh new ways of being could sprout? What if surrender helped you open up a window to your soul to let in more of what brings you alive?
Well then, I say we’d all be wise to practice surrendering, again and again and again. Maybe we could get really good at it so wildflowers would come up where we are.
Seems the perfect opportunity has arrived for us to do just that.
What are your thoughts on surrender? What does surrender look and feel like in your life? Your body?