For the majority of my adult life I have attempted to control ALL situations. I didn’t even realize that I had fallen into this pattern until some serious self-reflection and self-assessment. Some might say that trying to control the outcome of good and bad situations is actually a good thing. That having control over your own life is responsible. And I would agree, to a certain extent, that being responsible and accountable for your actions are qualities needed to survive. But trying to control everything in a world you don’t have control over is exhausting and will undoubtedly strip you of your freedom. Trying to control people who have the freedom to make their own decisions is just goofy. Eventually the frustration of failing to change something you don’t have control over will consume your joy. I make this statement with confidence because I have been a prisoner for years.

I have spent the last several years trying to break out of prison. Most of the time I am unsuccessful, until I surrender. I didn’t even know what that meant, let alone attempting to articulate it. Then I was given the grace to understand it. I had fallen to my knees. I was open and vulnerable. I had to surrender my heart. I had to give up my control. I had to let love conquer my fears. And I have to consciously choose to do these things EVERY SINGLE DAY. When my heart is hardened I fall apart in fear and anxiety.

My formula for surrendering, simply put, is:
+ be open to grace.
+ start and end each day with gratitude.
+ persevere through all things with grit.

“Something amazing happens when we surrender and just love. We melt into another world, a realm of power already within us. The world changes when we change. the world softens when we soften. The world loves us when we choose to love the world.”
― Marianne Williamson