Surrender & Acceptance: It’s Okay to Let Go

Photo by Amanda Lowe, Castleworks Photography ~ Great Falls, Virginia

"Fear of failure and fear of the unknown are always defeated by faith.

Having faith in yourself,

in the process of change,

and in the new direction that change sets

 will reveal your own inner core of steel."
~ Georgette Mosbacher

The past year of my life has been like no other.  This has been the first year of my life that I have been actively practicing the daily acceptance of the people and things I have no control over.  This is the first year of my life that I have consistently surrendered to what is and the first time in my life that I have found complete and total peace with the letting go of these same obstacles.  This journey was not easy for someone whose inquisitiveness always wants to know why things are the way they are, for someone who’s heart is so wide open and deep, that I would just assume forgive you and meet you where you are then walk away from you. 

That is just how I operate; I am always looking for the method behind the madness.  I always want to see the best in everyone.  I also want everyone to see the best in themselves as well.   So much so that I would stifle my own growth through the years because I was stuck on what was or what could be verses what was really happening in the present moment.   What is that they say about insanity, it is doing the same thing repeatedly but expecting a different result?  Yes, there I was, for far too many years, stuck on the why or what could be of the insanity that was my life.

My awakening to surrender and acceptance began many years ago though, finding a day here and there of solace.  As I dabbled in creating a healthier existence, I would always come upon people, places and things that would affirm the path that I was supposed to take.  Despite these signs, I continued to resist.  I was not listening to the nudges in my life.  My gut knew what needed to happen in order to reclaim my sanity but I was allowing myself to be stuck by the fear and anxiety of the unknown.   I did in essence not trust the path.

As I learned to surrender however, I found the courage to accept what was verses what I wanted to be, or what was held close to my heart as a memory of what once was.  A fierce courage that said no matter what happens, that even if I failed miserably, all of those things would be better then continuing to live in the insanity that surrounded me.  A courage that pushed me into action, despite the potential for short and/or long term loss or collateral damage, that damage being the loss of a child I’d mothered full-time for three years and known for seven.   A child I had sacrificed for and treated as my own.  Was I afraid of letting go?  I was, yet I made a plan and I acted on that plan despite those fears.   

I made small changes at first to gain traction and confidence in my new direction.  Then, as time would pass, I would make bolder changes.  I learned to use my voice.  I learned to hold my ground and not back down.  I learned how to recognize when those I loved dearly and unconditionally were manipulating me.  They were all baby steps years in the making but they were undoubtedly steps forward.  I was teaching myself to embrace the path verses resisting it. 

It is also during my most recent year of living with surrender and acceptance that I have learned just how powerful the law of attraction really is.  Opportunities, people, places and things have just appeared in my life without logic.  I am still in awe as to how things are unfolding.   I awaken each day with excitement about what is ahead and where my life is going.  I know that no matter whom I have had to let go of, that it really is okay and that I am exactly where I should be in this present moment. 

When I find myself angry or sad at the collateral damage of these choices, the parts and the people that I have no control over, I simply remember that if we do not move on in life, then the other people we loved so deeply and unconditionally, they will never have the opportunity to learn from the loss.  Sometimes, that is our greatest gift to them, the lessons they learn because of our actions.  

Are you listening to the nudges of your life? Are you paying attention to them? Is there something in your life that you too are resisting? Is there something that you are fearful to face or anxious to do? Is there a path that your gut says you should be taking yet you have been resisting it despite this inner knowing? Know this truth, whatever this path is; it will continue to appear in your life through various people, places and things. Sometimes it is even random but it is happening for a reason. The reason is your growth. Accepting it or not is your choice but the path will continue to appear in your journey until you take it.  Why not take it now? Time waits for no one. Trust the journey. Trust the path. Surrender yourself to it and accept it.  It really is okay to let go.

Copyright ©2011 Nita Clewis
All rights reserved. For personal use only. Commercial use without permission is not allowed. Sharing with friends and family is warmly welcomed.