Another week, another theme! Last week I was presented with the word PURPOSE and it dominated my actions and my conversations with others.
The universe just seems to keep on presenting these gems to us and, although it feels a bit like we are constantly being asked to continue digging into the inner work required for true freedom and it feels HARD, I’m really feeling like the flow of life is taking over and carrying us.
Maybe you don’t feel like that at all. Maybe it does just feel hard. All the time.
I remember feeling like that alot; not too long ago actually. With four young children who seemed hell bent on turning me grey before my time, lack of sleep over many years, constant busyness for little achievement (those dirty clothes just keep coming – you know?!) and the sense that I just could not keep paddling those legs underwater forever.
And then I was gifted this one word. SURRENDER. Another beauty from the Universe and one that serves me every day.
In the current climate, where we are told we must fight; fight for our health, fight for our rights, fight for our families; fight for our future, it may seem counterintuitive to stand in stillness – for that is what SURRENDER means for me.
What it doesn’t mean is to give up or to give in (although it can feel like that when we’re unpracticed in the art), but it does require a serious amount of digging in and going deep!
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To surrender to what is, to what is happening in this moment, we must be prepared to take on the work of self reflection to ask what we are so attached to, that surrendering feels impossible. What perceived truths or thoughts hold us so strongly that we feel shaky without them?
My child should show me more respect
My child won’t learn to read unless I force lessons on them
My puppy should pee outside (OK that one is personal!)
The government shouldn’t force us to wear masks
My kids take up so much time that I struggle with self care
There are so many external factors putting additional pressures on us right now – it’s no wonder we feel like fighting is the only way. But fighting is tiring and the energy exchange is never even; and without the transformation into a different way, the need to fight will never stop. There will just always be another battle.
And fighting really is all about control; like attempting to harness the wind or trying to get a brush to my fourth child’s hair. It can also be about getting others to see our point of view, or to agree with us. I try to ask myself how important it is that I’m right or that others hold the same view as me.
My (peaceful) challenge to you, and to myself, is to gently trust what’s in store for us; seek connection – with others, with the earth, with ourselves, and commit to doing the hard work of intentionally seeking out SURRENDER. Which is really just another word for TRUST!
When we exchange control and judgement for something else, we are often rewarded with a synchronistic charge; a feeling of things happening just as they should; something we’ve worked towards suddenly coming more easily to us; a feeling of joy, even amidst the chaos of life. A sense of calm.
I’ve included for you this week, a series of articles and videos that I hope will inspire you to seek moments of surrender and thus to be rewarded with more peace and a deeper sense of clarity that extends far beyond the battleground!
Sandra Vincent takes us through her mindset shift as she faced, earlier this year, the choice between fighting and surrendering to what is.
-click here to read-
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Sometimes we are so attached to who we are when we hold a particular idea as being true, that it can feel too hard to change. 2020 sure has given us lots of practice at facing change and adversity! Sandra Vincent might be something of an expert!
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It can feel frustrating when we can’t engage in the things that we love to do, just the way we like to do them. Travelling with kids sure can test us!
Lainie’s interview with Devon Harris is the perfect exploration of how we can surrender to our circumstances and surroundings and still look after ourselves.
-click here to read-
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This recipe epitomises SURRENDER for me. It’s made wherever you are, with whatever you have! It’s not so much a set of instructions but an inspiration for how to make soup from buttons! Except it’s a salad!