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.
Strength of mind is exercise, not rest.
We are creatures of our thinking. We can talk ourselves into defeat or we can talk ourselves into victory.
Desolation is a file, and the endurance of darkness is preparation for great light.
Eventually we grow weary of seeking treasures outside _x000D_ ourselves and we begin to look within. There we discover _x000D_ that the gold we sought, we already are.
Make use of time, let not advantage slip;_x000D_ _x000D_ Beauty within itself should not be wasted:_x000D_ _x000D_ Fair flowers that are not gather'd in their prime_x000D_ _x000D_ Rot and consume themselves in little time.
It is a madness to make fortune the mistress of events, because in herself she is nothing, can rule nothing, but is ruled by prudence.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.