SURRENDER
sur·ren·der
səˈrendər/
(verb)
1. cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority.
synonyms: capitulate, give in, give (oneself) up, give way, yield, concede
(defeat), submit, climb down, back down, cave in, relent, crumble
- give up or hand over (a person, right, or possession), typically on compulsion or demand.
“Always seek less turbulent skies.
Hurt. Fly above it.
Betrayal. Fly above it.
Anger. Fly above it.
You are the one who is flying the plane.”
― Marianne Williamson
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been known to continue to fly straight into the most turbulent sky’s.
Seat backs upright, tray tables locked in their upright position, death grip on the wheel, bleary eyes staring straight ahead.
The freakin’ FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS sign mocking me with its continuous, blaring red gaze.
Bumpy………Choppy……..Shit…………………Shit!
There I’d remain, resolute; until exhaustion set in, or whiplash, or both, and I would be forced to surrender the wheel.
Then, a force greater than myself, would steer my plane toward smooth horizons.
I wrote the other day about letting go of the wheel, and that really resonated with many of you. Letting the Muse or the Universe take over the accomplishment of all our endeavors. People wept with relief. Just the thought of it brought tears to their eyes.
But you can’t just throw your hands up, and put the plane on auto pilot.
Auto pilot to me; is just more of the same.
Super safe. It doesn’t rise, it doesn’t dive, it goes full steam ahead.
No change of course.
So here’s the deal. You have to take it a step further and SURRENDER the wheel.
I always HATED the word surrender. To me, it meant giving up.
Running that white flag up the pole to signal to everyone that you’ve just conceded the fight…..cause…..relationship….job….whatever.
It signified weakness.
I could not have been more wrong. Did you hear me? That’s WRONG.
“When we surrender to God, the Universe, Source, we surrender to something bigger than ourselves – to a Universe that knows what it’s doing.
When we stop trying to control events, they fall into a natural order, an order that works. We’re at rest while a power much greater than our own takes over, and it does a much better job than we could have done. We learn to trust that the power that holds galaxies together can handle the circumstances of our relatively little lives.”
~Marianne Williamson
It takes a great deal of courage to surrender. It is the opposite of cowardice.
It does not mean you’re giving away your power, on the contrary, you are powerful enough to realize that you may not have ALL the answers.
All the most powerful, accomplished people in the world are surrounded by a TEAM. When they’ve exhausted all their options, they make a calculated decision. They are deeply invested, they pay attention, BUT, they let the experts drive.
The experts are sent by the Universe.
Here’s a little secret. You know how my store was a causality of a freak urban flood?
Earlier that day, completely worn out and emotionally exhausted from fighting the good fight of trying to keep my store afloat financially, I sat in meditation and literally said: “I surrender. You take it,” over and over, picturing my arms up in the air, above my head, like the robber emerging after the bank heist.
I gave in. I yelled “Uncle.”
The next day, when I woke up……..the store was just a soggy memory. Gone. Finished.
Um, thanks?
My courage had to catch up with my request, because it wasn’t at ALLLLLL what I was expecting. But that’s how the Universe rolls.
“Surrender means, by definition, giving up attachment to results. When we surrender to God, we let go of our attachment to how things happen on the outside and we become more concerned with what happens on the inside.”
~Marianne Williamson
They’ll be times when you can’t guide your own plane to clear sky’s.
You just can’t for life of you find any.
Pry your hands off the wheel, put your seat back, disengage the auto-pilot, relax and SURRENDER the entire situation to the Universe.
Then ring for the flight attendant to bring you a cocktail.
What needed surrendering in your life TODAY? Have you had success with surrender in the past? I’d LOVE to hear about it?
Xox
