Is It Time to Surrender?

or The Art of Allowing

It’s amazing how often trust issues come up – even for someone like me who doesn’t have traditional trust issues. If anything I am a little naïve in my trust of everyone; even sometimes when my intuition says “no – walk away”. I’m still learning – like all of us. So actually, what we’re talking about here is the total surrender of control. Trust in this sense is surrender. Surrendering to a force greater than us – yet we are a part of it and it is a part of us; our truest self.

So this is the total element of trust to let go of the order of events; the events themselves and definitely the timing. To truly ‘let go and let God’. For if we believe that everything happens in Divine and perfect timing then we need to allow it to. To let go of our human conditioning, our expectations and our concern for what other people may or may not think. To allow ourselves to allow the Universe to help us. And that after all is the art of receiving. The complete ability to allow. KNOWING that what we are focusing or intending is coming; and even though we don’t know when – especially since we don’t know when – letting it play out how it is meant to. Letting ourselves enjoy all the delicious moments en route.

How many times have we all heard it’s not about the destination and to enjoy the journey? Well this is it. With every thing. Moment to moment. Day to day. Choose your focus. Decide your intention. You have now chosen where you are going. You have pointed your ship for your destination. Now allow the Universe to guide your ship. Allow yourself to listen to your intuition, to feel, to listen, to see the signs as they are presented to you. Even if at times you feel you are off course, trust that you need to be where you are, experiencing what you are experiencing. Keep your eye focused on the horizon, on that distant shore that you are aiming for. Know that you are en route. We cannot possibly know all the stages of our journey in advance, and if we did we might not embark on the journey in the first place. Let me illustrate this with a personal story that I will never forget…

A few years ago (ahem) I was at Reading University studying Physical Geography, a science degree. As part of the course we did lots of field trips and one in particular stands out. It was my trip to Okstindan, northern Norway. The University owned a hut there that had been built in 1968, where we would be staying. The winter had been more severe than usual this particular year and there was still a lot of snow on the ground, although it was June/July. Normally, the drill was to drive the minibus, full of students and kit, to the foot of the mountain and then ascend on foot. Since there had been so much snow, this was not an option. We would therefore have to hike in with afore-mentioned kit on our backs over two days.

That didn’t sound too hard. The first indication that this might not be the case was on the morning of the first day. We were traversing a very steep snow covered slope and one of the lads lost some of his equipment he was carrying. It literally came loose and started to fall away. There was nothing that could be done; we had to just let it go as the slope was so steep it was too dangerous to go after it. We would just have to do without it.

okstindan-landscape
The beautiful Okstindan landscape

Further on we reached a point where the glacial melt waters flowed down the mountain. Think raging torrent! At least there was a bridge. Now think of a scene from a Harrison Ford adventure movie – precarious bridge over deep gulley or similar and you won’t be far wrong. The bridge had seen better days. Most of the slats were missing as was one of the four tension wires holding the bridge in place… this was serious. The only way across was hanging off the outside of the one intact side of the bridge; slowly edging hand over hand placing each foot gingerly, one at a time, along the length of the wire whilst still carrying a full pack.

The weather was now starting to close in impeding our progress and we huddled together as we waited for the snowstorm to pass. At some point later that day we made it to a refuge hut where we were spending the night, part of a network of huts provided for trekkers.

the-hut-at-okstindan
The university’s hut at Okstindan

I don’t remember much about the next day. I do remember the relief in seeing the university hut that would be our home for the next month. Despite the fact that we still had a steep climb loaded with gear the relief was amazing. I think we all collapsed outside still attached to our rucksacks. An incredible and exhilarating experience. One I would not have believed I would have been capable of if I had known what would happen in advance.

So our role is to choose where we wish or desire to go – to focus our eye on our goal, our destination, to literally point our ship in the right direction as we set sail. We then need to let go of the helm and let the Universe steer us, to chart our course. And if we get to visit some interesting places along the way, so much the better; it will only make us more equipped for the next stage of our journey.

2 thoughts on “Is It Time to Surrender?

    1. Awesome! And my pleasure. Everything is always in Divine and perfect timing. The more we learn to let go, to surrender, and really trust the more we recognise this.

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