We live in a culture that values the individual and individual achievement above all else, so it’s no wonder the interconnected concept surrender is hard for most people to wrap their minds around. But make no mistakes about it my life began once I learned surrender trumps never surrender.
True Surrender is how I learn to do disconnect from my ego and connect Io a Higher Consciousness that permeates through all Life.
Surrender is standing up and, with profound humility, saying, “I do not want to fight with myself or life anymore. It's waving a white flag; it's vulnerability; it is an admission we don’t have all the answers. It's the collapse of our ego and a new voice that utters the words, "I need help."
We become humble because, without humility, we are not teachable.
The second part of surrender is admitting we don’t know who we are and it can only be dealt with by having the courage to share our shame with another human being. Then we can begin to do all the things we have been resisting.
Here is a unique story to help explain the mystery of surrender:
I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in; I am lost; I am hopeless. It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe I’m in the same place. But it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in; it’s a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
I decide to take a different street.
Some of the big holes on my road to recovery were painful beyond belief, but they were also vital for my awakening. It was not one event that broke me, and bam, I surrendered. It took many years for my egoic mind to be consumed in the fire of suffering before I fully accepted my situation and fully surrendered.
There is nothing as beautiful as a person who has suffered immensely and come out the other side. I guarantee they came out on the other side because they had many moments of deep surrender and remembered who they are.
Surrender is not something we do once, and we are good to go; surrender is a daily spiritual practice. It's another great paradox; the moment we surrender is the moment we have access to a Higher Power.
Find me at paulnoiles.com.