What is Surrender?

Surrender is a beautiful thing. Even though what leads us to the point of surrender is often much hardship - once we let go, we wish we had made the shift long ago!

There’s a lot of confusion about what surrender is. Surrender is not about giving up (on life, on ourselves, etc.) - but it’s a letting go, mainly of the struggle. We effort and push, seemingly to no avail but just increasing our tensions and anxieties. We can work ourselves up into a tizzy, trying so hard to control things, yet getting nowhere.

And then we realize that we are actually not in control. And we give up the struggle to the forces that be. You may think of it as a higher power (“Let go and let God”). Or you may think of it as letting go of your ego, your small self, your left brain - everything that wants to stay in control - and allowing instead your own higher consciousness, higher self, and right brain, to function unimpeded.

We don’t give up, but give over. We recognize: this is more than I can hold alone, I trust the forces that be to hold it for and with me. True surrender does not bring a spirit of defeat, instead it brings a sense of joy, relief, and wonder at everything that keeps our life and the world functioning, beyond our small selves. Instead of working against the flow of the universe, we fall more easily into and go with the flow. Sometimes tears can also flow when we realize how tightly we’ve been holding on, and allow a bit of softness, compassion, and trust in.

When we surrender, we give up the feeling that it’s “me against the world” - we realize that is always a fruitless struggle. Instead we allow ourselves to be held and supported by the universe, and allow for the mystery.