Recently I had the fortune to be reminded of an important life lesson – the art of surrender.  It began with a series of obstacles that appeared in my life in almost every aspect of my life.  Personal, professional, environmental – it really seemed to me that everything I tried to do was thwarted by the universe.

At first I just did what I always do – I just put my head down and pushed harder to “make it happen.”  The universe pushed back. Finally, after a few days of frustration, I began to wonder if the Universe  was up to something and I remembered the concept of surrender from Eckhart Tolle’s book, “The Power of Now.”  Feeling bullied by the universe and needing a new perspective, I re-read that chapter.

To many of us surrender seems like weakness, like giving in and giving up.  However surrender is not the same as resignation.  All we have to do is surrender to THIS moment, to what has already happened, not to all that follows. Not knowing what was to follow, I took a leap and gave an unqualified “YES” to what had already happened. I tried to embrace it as if I had asked for it, and felt a little space and peace within.

I was also reminded of something I’d forgotten in the midst of all the stuff going “wrong” in my life – my own limited perspective, from the Universe’s point of view.  I suddenly remembered the many times in my life that I did NOT get what I wanted and how that ended up being the best thing for me in the long run.

Over the next few days I re-visited the act of surrendering each time I felt my frustration return and as new obstacles were sent my way.  I began to sense that something bigger was at work, although I did not know what it was.

Three days later, my husband was offered an exceptional job opportunity in Sao Paulo, Brazil with his company, one that we have chosen to accept.  Suddenly, everything made sense.

More details to follow...