Am I really ready?
When we are ready to surrender we stop fighting.
Fighting our problem is an exercise in futility, we are reaching for something that is unattainable, we are still trying to control – we need to give up.
The idea of giving up is scary, especially considering cultural values of independence and self-sufficiency – these values create the framework for how we are taught to make decisions, and how we see our role. They generate the expectations that we have for ourselves, and also for others. Our frame of reference in decision making is based upon the assumption or belief that we are in control and our have power over our lives, and frequently over the lives of others. In this scenario the concept that we are powerless would seem to wipe us out in terms of self-initiation.
As we will see the opposite is true because the concept of power limits us in regard to decisions because there are so many circumstances, people, and emotions that we do not have power over. The delusion that we are able to control individuals, feelings and events or to influence them to conform to our expectations is a fallacy. The inability to acknowledge this self-deception or the misperception of our role actually fosters frustration and the feeling of being out of control engenders terror in most of us.
An acknowledgement of powerlessness is empowering as we are able to identify limitations and develop a creativity that enables us to consider options we never would have been willing to consider. We are finally able to open up and practice self-acceptance for the way things are and not the way we want them to be.
It enables us to seek help and creates an openness that invites acceptance, honesty and brings us into synch with the natural order of things. The ability to stop fighting is empowering and engenders hope and a readiness to change.
Once we give up the fight we begin the process of healing and rely on our strength to move forward. We are free.
