Here’s a nifty little trick:

Instead of trying to surrender completely, like in a grand and dramatic spiritual gesture, just back off in the moment.

Just now.

And in the next now.

There’s tremendous power in being aware of the little traps and endless riddles and superior frustrations and poisonous little worries that arise within us, constantly.

Not taking the bait is one of the coolest and healthiest things you can do.

How?

Don’t fall for the innocent suggestion of doubt.

Let the first whiff of anger subside.

Don’t go with the small idea about what other people should have done.

Step away from the emerging voice of criticism within you.

Let go of all these subtle suggestions.

Be aware of the first signs, the tiniest little inclinations, of the stuff that tries to drag you away from the moment, into oblivion.

Our mind loves to come up with things that keep us occupied, and since we simply can’t resist the more negative and alarming and comparative stuff, that’s what it serves us.

I have tried the Big Surrender many times, because it sounds so deliciously liberating, but it never really sticks.

Backing off in the moment does.

If you just keep it to right now, it will work.

It’s something you can become really REALLY good at, and it will serve as a powerful way to stop the habitual addiction to stories that go nowhere besides misery and anxiety, which will save you a tremendous amount of time lost in useless pain.

After a while, after playing with this again and again, you will start to see the bigger picture, which IS a more profound form of letting go, a more spacious experience of life in general.

It’s like the little dots of momentary letting go, just now, and now, and now, start to connect, and create a bigger sense of surrender.

 

The one you were after in the first place.

 

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(Photo by @adriel, for Unsplash)