Inspired by a question from a student who asked me what I mean by “surrender,” I wrote a post last week called “From Resistance to Surrender.” It describes an aha moment I had while bumping up against one of my own resisting patterns. [You can read it here]
As it so happens, the very morning I was having my epiphany on surrender, into my inbox pops the daily message that I subscribe to from DailyOM, written by its co-founder, Madisyn Taylor. Her inspiration that day offered a perspective on surrender that was spot on. How’s that for a lovely synchronicity (and another wink from the big U)?
You can read Madisyn’s message here:
The answer to control is practicing surrender
Trying to maintain control in this life is a bit like trying to maintain control on a roller coaster. The ride has its own logic and is going to go its own way, regardless of how tightly you grip the bar. There is a thrill and a power in simply surrendering to the ride and fully feeling the ups and downs of it, letting the curves take you rather than fighting them. When you fight the ride, resisting what’s happening at every turn, your whole being becomes tense and anxiety is your close companion. When you go with the ride, accepting what you cannot control, freedom and joy will inevitably arise.
As with so many seemingly simple things in life, it is not always easy to let go, even of the things we know we can’t control. Most of us feel a great discomfort with the givens of this life, one of which is the fact that much of the time we have no control over what happens. Sometimes this awareness comes only when we have a stark encounter with this fact, and all our attempts to be in control are revealed to be unnecessary burdens. We can also cultivate this awareness in ourselves gently, by simply making surrender a daily practice. At the end of our meditation, we might bow, saying, I surrender to this life. This simple mantra can be repeated as necessary throughout the day, when we find ourselves metaphorically gripping the safety bar.
We can give in to our fear and anxiety, or we can surrender to this great mystery with courage. When we see people on a roller coaster, we see that there are those with their faces tight with fear and then there are those that smile broadly, with their hands in the air, carried through the ride on a wave of freedom and joy. This powerful image reminds us that often the only control we have is choosing how we are going to respond to the ride.
– By Madisyn Taylor, “Control: Letting the Curves Take You,” DailyOM, April 26, 2015
Photo credit: Roller Coaster on Pinterest, artist unknown
