Surrender To What IS.

You’re paddling, kicking, fighting what already IS.

I remember the first time my son realized he was tall enough to reach the bottom of the lake. 

For the last 3 trips to Jordan lake, a pleasant 20-minute drive away from the city and into stillness, my son was inches shy of reaching the bottom… so I held him in my arms again. 

This time was different, he was older.

All I wanted was for him to stand.  I even told him, pointing toward the semi-clear bed of the lake, that the bottom was right there. But he panicked. 

I embraced him again and told him it was okay.  “Calm down and we’ll try again in a minute.” 

After a few minutes of spinning, wading, and exploring, I calmly told him that I was going to let go, “but I’m right here – I won’t let you get hurt.”

So, 3-2-1… I started to let go.

Before I could even fully let go, he tried his best to paddle, kick, and fight the water.. 

It didn’t take long, I held him to my chest again, and told him to stand on my knees as I bent down and went under the water.  One at a time, with one hand on his feet and my other arm around his back, I placed his feet on the lake ground. 

Once he realized all was well, I could feel his stress disseminate and vanish under the lake’s surface. 

See, after our last trip to the lake, my son went through an impressive growth spurt.  He grew several inches but still fought what was already there. 

Along with the safety (he was already tall enough) that was already his, some other things were perceived. 

The past and future are perceived. The present is all we have.

His initial panic was based on the past.  His uncontrolled paddling and kicking were also perceived – they were based on what he feared in the future.

And even though you may think those things (panic, kicking) were not needed because he was now tall enough, the panic opened a new awareness of what was already there and he appreciated much more his new awareness.

Do you have an underlying film of panic, fear, and unease in the background of life?

Are your emotions nomadic? Continually moving from ups to downs?

Are you fighting what is? The present moment. Could this be based on your fear of what could come in the future? What’s happened in the past?

See, the present is always as it is.  It’s constant. It’s the only place you’ll ever be.  

Like my son’s paddling, kicking, and fighting… the floor of the lake was always within reach.  He just needed to accept and surrender to what was.  In your case, what is.

Once surrender takes place, you can still have goals. You can still plan for an improved life situation.  But life will seem to move with you when you’re no longer mentally kicking and fighting what is.