Strength in surrender
Many of us seem have to hit the point this week of being really, truly, over it. Feeling antsy, irritated, ready to break out. We have been conditioned to expect rapid delivery, easy bake answers, in-the-moment solutions. What we are experiencing is the beginning of a significant transformative period. This is not a microwave meal, this is a slower-cooker recipe. We are living through an alchemical process, a turning from one state of being into something entirely new.
I'm sure you've heard yourself or others saying, I'm just ready to get back to normal! Well my friends, I hate to break it to you, but once the transformation begins, there's no going back. I think of the many times in my life when I've entered into a period of significant change and there's always a point where I think, What have I done?! I want to go back to how things were. It's often most present when I'm on my growing edge, faced with the unknown, feeling the discomfort of the un-doing, the re-making, and the space in-between. But there's no going back.
So, how do you move forward? You surrender. You might read that and immediately associate "surrender" with complacency, passivity, with raising the white flag and giving up, as a sign of weakness. In truth, your greatest strength resides in the space of surrender. When you surrender, you stop fighting with what is. You set aside the futile pursuit to control what's occurring. When you surrender, you accept what is, in order to discover what's next.
My go-to reminder of what surrender looks like is from the film Contact, maybe you've seen it? Jodie Foster's character sets off on a journey in a space craft built from blueprints sent by off-planet beings. The engineers think the blueprints have omitted a key element, so they add a seat and safety harness to restrain her. Once she's launched into the unknown, it's an incredibly bumpy ride. As it continues she's violently jolted over and over, then there's a moment when she realizes the only reason it's bumpy, is because she's strapped into the seat that didn't need to be there. In an attempt to control for unknown factors, the ride was made unnecessarily rough. Once she releases the harness and surrenders, everything shifts. The noise is gone, the intense shaking stops. In the space of surrender she can take in the magnificence and wildness of the journey. In the surrender, she is safe.
The whole scene is great for the build up, or you can skip to the moment of surrender at 2:50
It makes sense to think that control leads to safety, it's what we're conditioned to believe. That analyzing the situation, proving our point, fighting our way to back to normal is a demonstration of strength. In any transformation, true strength comes from our willingness to surrender to the process as it unfolds. We don't know where all this is taking us, but we can surrender to the experience and allow it to inform the journey. In the space of surrender the noise quiets, the view becomes more steady and we can readily take in the landscape as it appears, and discern the appropriate actions in response.
A week or so ago, I had a profound experience in dreamtime. I was visited by loved ones who have passed on and was told that we are living the continuity of the human experience. There is nothing occurring now that has not been present on this earth before. What's unique is our level of connectivity and that this is all happening simultaneously across the planet. The ancestors said this is a time to remake our human story. The curtains are being pulled back and we are seeing what's been hidden. The depth of systems, structures, ideologies that do not support a thriving whole. The message was to not be afraid, to open our eyes and see what needs to be seen, and surrender to the unfolding, knowing we are fully supported in ways we cannot imagine. As we surrender, we open up to more compassion, more understanding, more strength. Strength that we will each need in discovering the new path ahead. There is no going back to normal, there is only consciously creating the new. I fully believe we can do this, together.
