The Freedom of Surrender

Discovering Your True Self Through Surrendering to the Universe

« Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright

They just seem a little weird

Surrender, surrender

But don't give yourself away”

-Cheap Trick

We often associate surrendering with ultimate defeat, such as in a war where surrendering means losing everything from land to dignity. However, life is not a war; it is something complex and alluring in an absolutely unique way. That being said, why do we keep treating life as if it were a deadly war? Why do we hold on so hard, even when letting go hurts less?

You have likely read about the Eastern philosophies that discuss the art of letting go. These concepts have been pondered for hundreds, yet thousands of years by many wise men, monks, and individuals with a deep sense of critical thinking. As a child of Western culture, I ask myself why so many of us lack access or exposure to these powerful ideas and knowledge. The answer is quite simple: these philosophies and ways of thinking have no useful place in a consumer-driven, capitalistic society. Except for making our quality of life better and improving our sense of connection with the world, ultimately helping us feel at peace with the life the universe has given us. The capitalist powers don't want you to have that; no, they want you to stay incomplete. They want you to have an insatiable craving for more, to consume their products blindly while generating more and more money for them. And us? The scraps are for us, nothing else. When we accumulate all this material mess, we lie to ourselves, believing that the latest face moisturizer or car model is all we need to finally be happy. We start to believe that building the tallest tower we can is the path to peace, when in reality, it's just laying still on the ground. Being simple, feeling satisfied with little, and accepting our fate will never make us feel the urge to go shopping for the latest sneakers or subscribing to another TV network when we already have ten we don't even watch. It just doesn't fit into their business model; that's why they better have you feeling all confused and uneasy to sell you even more stuff. But they don't know that the power of honesty will always eventually prevail (I truly believe so).

When being honest in life, one of the most fundamental parts is surrendering. Only when you surrender completely to life can you see and experience it fully. Life is not like a battlefield opponent trying to destroy us; it's like the arms of a loved one. We must let go and surrender to them to feel their true compassion. Surrendering allows us to experience life in a whole new way. Instead of always being disappointed by our high expectations, we accept what we have, and as a result, we further cherish the few things or people we have in our lives. Our mundane, maybe boring tasks that we always wish to end faster become moments of life that we embrace and yearn to keep forever; this works with everything. For example, imagine you never wash dishes with music, but after a nice dinner, someone tells you that this is the last time you will wash dishes in your life. Some sort of nostalgia kicks in, and all of a sudden, washing dishes was not that grueling after all; in fact, it was part of all those little things that make life what it is. Surrender to your mistakes, for they form a part of the past. That spectrum of time, along with the future, is entirely out of our hands. We are creatures of the present, the only place we will ever exist. Reminiscing or feeling anxious are feelings we have, yet they are something that technically doesn't exist. Find peace in losing, for as the saying goes, "losing and making mistakes is the way we learn best."

We are creatures of the present, the only place where we will ever exist. Reminiscing or feeling anxious are emotions we experience, yet they do not technically exist. Find peace in losing, as the saying goes, 'losing and making mistakes is the way we learn best'. Surrender to the fact that you are on a rollercoaster and enjoy the ride, surrender to your faith.