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The Secret of Surrender: Seeing the Illusion

“Most of us were raised and live in a culture that emphasizes the ideals of independence and control. The general idea is that we are on our own and we don’t need any help from anyone else, and if we are really successful it’s because we are in complete control. However, true lasting success comes only with surrender, which is the opposite of control. We cannot accomplish anything truly great on our own, without any help, and the idea that we can is an illusion that causes most of us a great deal of suffering. Surrender comes when we see that illusion and let go of trying to attain the impossible. Surrender can then be seen as a great strength rather than a weakness.

Even small moments of surrender are powerful indicators of how different our lives could be if we would only let go. We’ve all had the experience of extending huge amounts of effort and energy to reach a particular goal only to realize that we can’t make it happen after all. At the moment of letting go, realizing that we need to ask for help or simply release our agenda entirely, a profound feeling of relief may rush over us. This warm, open sensation is the essence of surrender, and if we didn’t feel that we didn’t really let go. But it is never too late to let go, even of things in the past that didn’t work out the way we wanted them to, because surrender is always an option in every moment of our lives.

When we finally do surrender, our goals actually become possible, because the act of surrender is, in essence, asking for the help we need. This help may come in the form of other human beings or unseen helpers such as angels or inner guides. It may also come in the form of shifting circumstances, the small miracles that we call grace.”

~ Madisyn Taylor

As today’s thought states, surrender is applicable to achieving goals or coming to terms with the past. In reality, it applies to most any aspect of our lives. Yet, surrender doesn’t happen in a vacuum. In most cases, surrender does not arrive as a “light-bulb” moment. It is a process that we go through to reach the final goal–that is, surrender.

The most difficult part of the process is that period before we finally realize that surrendering is more desirable than what has come before. Granted, it is easy to say and much harder to do. Along the way, there are many starts and stops, to overcome those negative thoughts and feelings, that hinder our acceptance that the old ideals do not hold true and that we cannot, and aren’t meant to, do it alone. The irony is that it is the letting go that enables us to realize the full extent of which we are capable. Although surrendering may feel like a loss of control, in actuality, when we choose to do so, it is the moment when we take maximum control over our lives and the path it will take.

One cannot be forced to surrender or let go. If you are anything like me, the more that one tries to force anything upon you, the greater the likelihood that you will rebel against it. It is only when we make the voluntary and conscious choice to welcome the help of God, the Universe, or whatever your higher power may be, that we truly actualize surrender and the power that comes with it. In that moment, our actions and feelings are solely our own, and we choose to accept the help that has been there for the asking. We are strongest when we summon all the forces within our power, that long to join us in realizing our goals and our best selves. We are strongest when we acknowledge the endless possibilities that arise from surrendering to the idea that we are truly not alone.