On choosing surrender
and opening our hands to receive.
Work with me!
It’s easy to tell people around us, ‘just go with the flow’, ‘trust the process.’ But when it comes to our own lives, going with the flow isn’t so easy.
We scramble for answers so many ways: we find coaches, we ask ten people for advice the same question (which we probably know the answer to) we search online, we even look to the stars — yes, astrology is method of trying to find certainty when we lack answers too.
I am undoubtedly one of these people. And I feel like a hypocrite sometimes, because I constantly remind people to flow, not force, yet I see many ways I’m not fully letting go.
Letting go of control
My overthinking, over planning, is a result of a fear of uncertainty. Rather than let things unfold naturally, I think too far forward, to the point where I constantly pause from overwhelm.
Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes, it is letting go — Herman Hesse
I have thought endlessly about how to combine my writing, photography and podcasting into something clear and coherent. Instead of playing around and just having fun with it, I spent too much time stuck in my head.
But one day, someone told me this:
“What if you trust, that you are able to deal with the result no matter where it takes you? What if you trust that when you get to another crossroad, or when you feel misaligned, that you have the the ability to pivot?”
That’s when I realised; the overthinking came from me not trusting myself, and my own abilities. When we are too in our heads, we cannot hear our body’s wisdom.
This is what I’d like to remind you too: whenever we choose to take a risk, or do something differently, we can never guarantee a result. We can try our best, but after that, we need to have faith.
Trust that we can handle what’s next.
Trust the messy middle.
Trust that what happens is meant to happen for our growth and transformation.
Clenched fists cannot receive
The energy of control is very much like a clenched fist. We hold on tight to expectations, results, people, things. When we are clenching tightly to a particular result, things that are meant for us cannot come in.
When our field of vision is focused on the specific result or thing we want, we won’t be able to see other options, or ways of doing things that could work just as well, or better.
Life can’t give to you if your hands are closed. Open your mind, open your heart, and open your arms — Louise Hay
This was me for a long time. Tunnel vision, very focused on everything I thought I wanted. Until I realised I am not even present, nor very excited about my day to day.
This made me to pause and instead reverse engineer not the result, but how I wanted to when I ‘had those things’. My answer? Energised, present, inspired, peaceful, expansive, creative. So, I started becoming more open to experiences that inspired those feelings in me — and because of this, I met people, I tried new things, I explored new mediums I otherwise would not have discovered.
Surrender isn’t doing nothing
Surrender doesn’t equate stagnancy. Rather, it connotes having more trust in the flow of life. Surrendering to the flow really means surrendering to what energises and excites you, or pivoting when one door closes, instead of continuing to force open that same door.
Where in life are you acting out of fear, and how can you surrender?
What situation creates tenseness in your body? Can you relax into that tenseness?
When we stay open, life often surprises us.
INSPIRATION
I will never have this version of me again, let me slow down and be with her - Rupi Kaur
Good writing, giving up is a process of life, and can grow. I like this writing.
expect the unexpected! surrender isn't always easy but it can open doors we never thought it could, thank you for sharing