Beautiful and thought-provoking, Leah. Thank you! It reminds me of the Zen master Seung Sahn, who taught the concept of "don't-know mind." Powerful practice!
Thank you, Jeanne. I’m glad that you brought up the “don’t know” mind. What a good reminder of how business as usual is a delusion that we can and should both know and control what happens around us. I think I need to meditate on humility! Grateful for your comments 💕
A good reminder, Julie. I love how there are so many ways to turn this diamond to see possibilities. I am excited to talk with you and Camilla this week. It will be another opportunity to push the edges.
Your words and thoughts brought to mind the myth from the Inuits about their Goddess of the Deep Sea, Sedna that Heather Ensworth shares so eloquently on her YouTube channel. ‘’Sedna resists the cultural conditioning of her village to settle down and marry. A stranger comes to town, Raven, who takes her to a remote island. He is a shaman teacher and Sedna realizes she is on a spiritual path. Her father comes to the island to bring her back, forces her into the boat and sets off. Raven dips his wing into the sea and a storm rages. The father becomes frightened and throws Sedna out if the boat, she clings to the side of the boat and the father hits her hands with the paddle, her fingers fall off and dissolve into the sea becoming seals and whales. Sedna realizes there is no safety in the boat, she surrenders and dives into the sea, dissolving and reemerging as the Goddess of the Deep Sea”
Wow, Roxanne! What a powerful story. Thank you so much for sharing. I love it when what we put out into the world comes back to us with new depth. Grateful to you.
I am grateful for this reminder, and meditation, on what we mean by surrender. I am also happy you inlcuded Andrea's essay... always looking for another kindred science nerd who thinks about this stuff.💜
Surrender is the key to the threshold of Impasse. I love this poem and often use it in my work. Thank you for your thoughts. Question: how does one best obtain the children's book mentioned;
Yes. The impasse of the dark night of the soul, where there is no forward and all we can do is kneel. Thank you for reading. 🙏
Thanks too for asking about Cheryl’s book. If you cannot find at your local independent bookstore, go to bookshop.org. They give back to those bookstores and help keep community bookstores alive.
Thank you for these words, Leah. Surrender is something that is coming up for me again and again these days, sometimes like a stone in the shoe or a splinter in the tender skin of the palm, and sometimes like an impossibly tall vertical rock face that seems to block me in on all sides. I still do not know how to live the questions as Rilke puts it, how to trust in the darkness of unknowing and unravelling, how to go on when no direction seems right. The more heartening it is to read the words of others who are grappling with this.
Anja, this means a lot coming from you. As I read your work, I feel that “pushing against solid stone.” You write so beautifully about falling into something greater. Yes, yes, to reading the words of others on this path. 🙏 I’m so grateful for the resonance that transcends words and miles. 🩷
I know what you mean about one "simple" word shaking you from a "perpetually dazed state," and love your honesty about it disturbing your routine. I actually like it when that happens, but if it's too often, it can be somewhat overwhelming. It's so often said that the use of language creates our reality--a scary thought in one way, but in another, one that ultimately sounds hopeful as another avenue of a shift in consciousness. I've also found that looking at the etymology of words that won't let me go can be a source of even more insight--to see how original roots surprisingly typically will have a deeper meaning than how the word is currently used. With "surrender," I found a root meaning either just "to give," or compounded, "to give over." That latter one seems to me to relate especially to surrendering to Earth's intelligence.
I also appreciated your once again talking about edges (I seem to remember one of your earliest posts was about literally being on an edge), and as I've generally thought of Rilke as an "edgy" poet (much like Rumi), I had to look up the full poem of "The Man Watching." I was completely blown away, as it has so many echoes of what I've been reading/studying/practicing for the past couple months, having returned to Zen Buddhism as a spiritual path. The images in the poem have so many echoes in both Buddhism and Taoism (the conflation of which is Zen). The last three lines (overlooking the gender limitations of an older translation)--"Winning does not tempt him./His growth is: to be deeply defeated/by ever greater things"--to me would be a wondrous place to be in the process of surrender.
The only thing I liked more in this translation was that instead of using the word "fight," the translator uses "wrestle." We are such a culture of opposition and war-like language, that "wrestle" seems to be to be more appropriate for what we do when the "greater things" confront us. In case you'd like to read this translation, here it is: https://poems.com/poem/the-man-watching/
I love that you look up the source of words. I often do as well - and it's amazing what I learn. Isn't "give" or "give over" a great way of thinking about how we COULD respond to Earth and other wise beings? Give over to stop entangling ourselves in the knots we make. (Ahh, to truly embrace humility.)
I really appreciate the various comments on ways of considering the concept of "surrender" that you and other readers offer. I'm so grateful for the depth and breadth this adds to our collective thinking.
The various translations are intriguing. I memorized the Robert Bly translation several decades ago so it lives within me. And another thing we share: I looked up a few others during the writing of this essay too. :-)
Thank you so much for reading and commenting, Carrie. I'm grateful for our heart conversations across the miles.
Leah, I loved this piece. You so graciously share your not-knowing, your curious and unknowable meanderings. I appreciate that! It’s so very hard to write about. I, too, have been exploring the idea of surrender. Not loving the word and its connotations of white flags, armies giving up, and an unfortunate sense of quietism, I have been playing with the word “trustfall” instead. And having a lovely time with it and with the feeling it engenders : ). But that’s just me. I love and appreciate that you shared your own explorations. Thank you.
"Trustfall." That gives me a sense of fear and hope. Thank you for that. Yes, surrender has become so associated with military language - especially today, ugg. I almost didn't write about it for that reason. Still it was the word itself that grabbed me so, for me personally, I just had to stay with it. I'm so grateful when we are somehow able to wrestle with concepts and feelings that seem to transcend words. Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I'm grateful to be on the road together.
This is poignant, beautiful, and very important. Surrender is such an easy term to throw out but to actually live it is so very haaaaaard and requires extraordinary courage. Because in reality we never know to what we are surrendering and what the impacts will be. A leap into utter unknown, and yet somehow trusting. Thanks for this. You’ve given me much upon which to reflect.
Oh, yes, Beth. I feel that way with so much of what I write: challenging to find the words and even more difficult to keep alive in my day to day. As always thank you for traveling this road too and for your support. ❤️
I love this Leah. Also known as the Dance of Will and Surrender with the Divine🥰
Your honesty about writing at the edge of understanding is beautiful too. Perhaps that space of not-knowing is itself a form of surrender. 🌿
Thank you, Camilla. Perhaps stepping into the unknown is one of the reasons our conversations feel so alive to me. Deep gratitude for you. 🙏🩷
Aww, what a sweet thing to read this morning, Leah🥰 Deep gratitude for you too.
I’m looking forward to our Live on Thursday♥️🔥🙏🏼
Beautiful and thought-provoking, Leah. Thank you! It reminds me of the Zen master Seung Sahn, who taught the concept of "don't-know mind." Powerful practice!
Thank you, Jeanne. I’m glad that you brought up the “don’t know” mind. What a good reminder of how business as usual is a delusion that we can and should both know and control what happens around us. I think I need to meditate on humility! Grateful for your comments 💕
Beautifully said, Leah. The words, “radical trust,” jumped out at me. That’s the flavor of surrender I get from this. Looking forward to Thursday! 💚
A good reminder, Julie. I love how there are so many ways to turn this diamond to see possibilities. I am excited to talk with you and Camilla this week. It will be another opportunity to push the edges.
Your words and thoughts brought to mind the myth from the Inuits about their Goddess of the Deep Sea, Sedna that Heather Ensworth shares so eloquently on her YouTube channel. ‘’Sedna resists the cultural conditioning of her village to settle down and marry. A stranger comes to town, Raven, who takes her to a remote island. He is a shaman teacher and Sedna realizes she is on a spiritual path. Her father comes to the island to bring her back, forces her into the boat and sets off. Raven dips his wing into the sea and a storm rages. The father becomes frightened and throws Sedna out if the boat, she clings to the side of the boat and the father hits her hands with the paddle, her fingers fall off and dissolve into the sea becoming seals and whales. Sedna realizes there is no safety in the boat, she surrenders and dives into the sea, dissolving and reemerging as the Goddess of the Deep Sea”
Wow, Roxanne! What a powerful story. Thank you so much for sharing. I love it when what we put out into the world comes back to us with new depth. Grateful to you.
You’re most welcome. It is a beautiful story with many layers to contemplate. Grateful to you.
Beautiful essay, Leah, and thanks for quoting my post! I always find Rilke a grounding breath of fresh air.
Thank you so much, Andrea. That means a lot. Appreciating you back. 🌷
I am grateful for this reminder, and meditation, on what we mean by surrender. I am also happy you inlcuded Andrea's essay... always looking for another kindred science nerd who thinks about this stuff.💜
Thanks, Mary Beth. Happy you took the time to read and glad you found a connection! 😊
Surrender is the key to the threshold of Impasse. I love this poem and often use it in my work. Thank you for your thoughts. Question: how does one best obtain the children's book mentioned;
Sing Up the Earth?
Yes. The impasse of the dark night of the soul, where there is no forward and all we can do is kneel. Thank you for reading. 🙏
Thanks too for asking about Cheryl’s book. If you cannot find at your local independent bookstore, go to bookshop.org. They give back to those bookstores and help keep community bookstores alive.
Thank you for these words, Leah. Surrender is something that is coming up for me again and again these days, sometimes like a stone in the shoe or a splinter in the tender skin of the palm, and sometimes like an impossibly tall vertical rock face that seems to block me in on all sides. I still do not know how to live the questions as Rilke puts it, how to trust in the darkness of unknowing and unravelling, how to go on when no direction seems right. The more heartening it is to read the words of others who are grappling with this.
Anja, this means a lot coming from you. As I read your work, I feel that “pushing against solid stone.” You write so beautifully about falling into something greater. Yes, yes, to reading the words of others on this path. 🙏 I’m so grateful for the resonance that transcends words and miles. 🩷
Roots dig deep, weave... trust?
Branches reach out, up, high... hope?
Know, find what they need.
What a gift you are, Marisol! Synthesizing, supporting. Thank you. 🙏
You, your work, grand gifts...
Grip/grab gracefully released~
Gaia says ¡Gracias!
🩷💜💚🌿🌿
I am feeling renewed! Thank you for sharing!
I'm so glad to her that, Cindy! Thank you for letting me know.
I know what you mean about one "simple" word shaking you from a "perpetually dazed state," and love your honesty about it disturbing your routine. I actually like it when that happens, but if it's too often, it can be somewhat overwhelming. It's so often said that the use of language creates our reality--a scary thought in one way, but in another, one that ultimately sounds hopeful as another avenue of a shift in consciousness. I've also found that looking at the etymology of words that won't let me go can be a source of even more insight--to see how original roots surprisingly typically will have a deeper meaning than how the word is currently used. With "surrender," I found a root meaning either just "to give," or compounded, "to give over." That latter one seems to me to relate especially to surrendering to Earth's intelligence.
I also appreciated your once again talking about edges (I seem to remember one of your earliest posts was about literally being on an edge), and as I've generally thought of Rilke as an "edgy" poet (much like Rumi), I had to look up the full poem of "The Man Watching." I was completely blown away, as it has so many echoes of what I've been reading/studying/practicing for the past couple months, having returned to Zen Buddhism as a spiritual path. The images in the poem have so many echoes in both Buddhism and Taoism (the conflation of which is Zen). The last three lines (overlooking the gender limitations of an older translation)--"Winning does not tempt him./His growth is: to be deeply defeated/by ever greater things"--to me would be a wondrous place to be in the process of surrender.
The only thing I liked more in this translation was that instead of using the word "fight," the translator uses "wrestle." We are such a culture of opposition and war-like language, that "wrestle" seems to be to be more appropriate for what we do when the "greater things" confront us. In case you'd like to read this translation, here it is: https://poems.com/poem/the-man-watching/
Thanks, as always, for the beautiful reflections.
Carrie,
I love that you look up the source of words. I often do as well - and it's amazing what I learn. Isn't "give" or "give over" a great way of thinking about how we COULD respond to Earth and other wise beings? Give over to stop entangling ourselves in the knots we make. (Ahh, to truly embrace humility.)
I really appreciate the various comments on ways of considering the concept of "surrender" that you and other readers offer. I'm so grateful for the depth and breadth this adds to our collective thinking.
The various translations are intriguing. I memorized the Robert Bly translation several decades ago so it lives within me. And another thing we share: I looked up a few others during the writing of this essay too. :-)
Thank you so much for reading and commenting, Carrie. I'm grateful for our heart conversations across the miles.
Leah, I loved this piece. You so graciously share your not-knowing, your curious and unknowable meanderings. I appreciate that! It’s so very hard to write about. I, too, have been exploring the idea of surrender. Not loving the word and its connotations of white flags, armies giving up, and an unfortunate sense of quietism, I have been playing with the word “trustfall” instead. And having a lovely time with it and with the feeling it engenders : ). But that’s just me. I love and appreciate that you shared your own explorations. Thank you.
"Trustfall." That gives me a sense of fear and hope. Thank you for that. Yes, surrender has become so associated with military language - especially today, ugg. I almost didn't write about it for that reason. Still it was the word itself that grabbed me so, for me personally, I just had to stay with it. I'm so grateful when we are somehow able to wrestle with concepts and feelings that seem to transcend words. Thank you so much for reading and commenting. I'm grateful to be on the road together.
Me too Leah!
This is poignant, beautiful, and very important. Surrender is such an easy term to throw out but to actually live it is so very haaaaaard and requires extraordinary courage. Because in reality we never know to what we are surrendering and what the impacts will be. A leap into utter unknown, and yet somehow trusting. Thanks for this. You’ve given me much upon which to reflect.
Oh, yes, Beth. I feel that way with so much of what I write: challenging to find the words and even more difficult to keep alive in my day to day. As always thank you for traveling this road too and for your support. ❤️