Surrender means wisely accommodating ourselves to what is beyond our control.
Interpretation
Surrendering involves accepting situations we cannot change and finding peace within that acceptance.
In this quote, Sylvia Boorstein emphasizes the importance of surrendering to circumstances that are beyond our control, suggesting that true wisdom lies in being able to adapt to life's challenges with grace and understanding. Instead of resisting or fighting against these uncontrollable aspects, we should learn to accommodate ourselves to them, fostering inner peace and acceptance.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a discussion on coping strategies for dealing with stress.
Heir to your own karma doesn't mean 'You get what you deserve.' I think it means 'You get what you get.' Bad things happen to good people. My happiness depending on my action means, to me, that it depends on my action of choosing compassion--for myself as well as for everyone else--rather than contention. [p.61]
If you take a deep breath and look around, 'Look what's happening to me!' can become 'Look what's happening!' And what's happening? The incredible drama of life is happening. And we're in it!
Mindfulness is the aware, balanced acceptance of the present experience. It isn't more complicated that that. It is opening to or recieving the present moment, pleasant or unpleasant, just as it is, without either clinging to it or rejecting it.
The path of compassion leads to the development of insight. But it doesn't work to say, "Ready, set, go! Be compassionate!" Beginning any practice depends on intention. Intention depends on intuiting-at least a little bit-the suffering inherent in the human condition and the pain we feel, and cause, when we act out of confusion. It also depends on trusting-at least a little bit-in the possibility of a contented, satisfied mind.
Mindfulness is attentiveness, moment to moment. What's happening right now and what's coming up in me in response to what's happening right now. Importantly, this is in the service of being able to choose wisely so that I avoid complicating my own life and the lives of others.
Suffering is the demand that experience be different from what it is.
Now the skies could fall _x000D_ Not even if my boss should call _x000D_ The world it seems so very small _x000D_ 'Cause nothing even matters at all
Controversy is only dreaded by the advocates of error.
Attention is a bit like real estate, in that they're not making any more of it. Unlike real estate, though, it keeps going up in value.
Oh, but my treasure, it is so much less exhausting. You only have to forgive once. To resent, you have to do it all day, every day. You have to keep remembering all the bad things.
Experiment with this a little. During these days that you are here with me, don't nourish any desire for happiness, and then see how your heart becomes filled with happiness. Don't have any desire for peace, and see how the turmoil within you vanishes. Don't beg for contentment and see how contentment showers down on you. Please try this - only then will you understand.
I would give wings to children, but I would leave it to them to learn how to fly by themselves.
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