Tag Archives: Surrender
The poet, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, “Where something becomes extremely difficult and unbearable, there we also stand already quite near its transformation.” I believe this is because when we are at a place where we think we can’t go on, we are at the point of surrender, where something greater than our own ego can take over. But why do we wait until everything has fallen apart and all our defenses are down before we surrender and allow Nature to…..
Recently, I happened to watch two inspiring documentaries. The first followed the extraordinary journey of three men who climbed to the summit of Meru, a mountain in the Himalayas. All previous attempts had failed, and the summit had been considered unreachable. The second film documented the nine-month voyage of six women who, incredibly, rowed eight thousand miles across the Pacific Ocean. Both extreme adventures required overcoming impossible obstacles, facing the ultimate physical and mental challenges that presented real confrontations with…..
Marina and Nick (not their real names) came to my support group at hospice every week for several months after their three-month-old baby died of a severe birth defect. Although Nick was philosophical about the loss, he was able to feel and express his grief each week during the sessions, which he said was helpful in coming to an acceptance. Marina’s process was different. She seemed perpetually angry— “It shouldn’t have happened. We did everything right.” She compared herself to…..
