The Grace of Surrendering

The New Year is always exciting because it gives us a chance to start the year off with a clean slate. So, possibly, a great way to start this New Year would be to find the willingness (that’s all it takes), to surrender. I know it may not sound like fun but it will be the very best thing you could do for yourself, ever. Here’s an example:

Scene 1: You go to work and learn there’s a new budget that’s been created for the new fiscal year and your department’s been eliminated. You’re in shock. You find out you have two weeks until you’re out of work. You go home, thrash your anger on everyone and place blame on some third party for why this happened to you. You feel horrible, you’re miserable, you’re scared – this is suffering.

Scene 2: The same thing happens except you do not take anything personally because you know this is all outside yourself. Even though there may be some initial shock, you determine you will look at this differently from the start and see this as a gift; and now you’re excited to find out how this is all going to play out. You know everything always goes toward the good, so you lead with trust and allow that to burn off any concerns that might arise. You surrender your control. You’re not miserable – you’re not suffering. In this scene, you don’t take your mind to the negative, you trust and find positive thoughts that relate to your circumstances. You find gratitude – for positively everything.

This concept carries over to much larger situations, as well. If we’ve been suppressing pain for many years over something that happened long ago, it restricts us and creates blockages in our energy – we resist going near that pain, which only makes things worse and eventually causes illness. It’s a hot burner that we don’t want to touch but it doesn’t actually exist – it’s only in our belief. What we may not realize is that pain is holding us back. So, we miss out on a lot of opportunities in life. Once again, if we find acceptance for exactly where we’re at, we can transmute that pain and fear into love. This is surrendering to the situation.

Eli Jaxon-Bear, a spiritual teacher, speaks of “opening your heart and welcoming the fear.” Fear is created by our beliefs – think of how many beliefs you’ve had in life that never actually existed, never came to fruition, carried no weight or no longer served you. We are much more than our outer circumstances. So, instead of resisting, accept the situation – open your heart and welcome the fear – surrender to the situation. Find gratitude for the fact that the fear or pain served its purpose at one time but it’s no longer serving us now. In fact, it’s become toxic.

Surrendering requires willingness and trust. I remember, as a little girl, a group of kids in our neighborhood tied a thick rope to a large tree branch – we climbed the tree, hung onto the rope and swung over to an open lot next to the tree. It took me a while to gain the nerve to try it; but once I did, it was exhilarating! This is a similar situation, when we take away our belief that it’s going to hurt or be painful to surrender, we step into trust so we can surrender, which is a special kind of Grace and Enlightenment, too.

Reach deeply inside, find what’s holding you back, be willing to face the pain or fear and make this the year you transmute any pain or fear into love. Remember to recognize and release the negative thoughts, find even the slightest positive thoughts to reframe the situation, welcome any fear and move into trust. Surrender to the situation. Relinquishing what’s holding us back is life changing. Find Gratitude. Know you are fully loved and loveable and fully worthy. Find the courage – you can do this!