JULY 25/10 - ‘SWEET SWEET SURRENDER’

I was going to write about dealing with frustration, when I heard John Denver sing Sweet Sweet Surrender. That certainly puts things in a more positive light but how does one really just live in the now?

Do plans, goals, & objectives go out the window & hope, prayer, & faith replace them?

Isn’t frustration a part of daily life & wouldn’t it be difficult to just go with the flow, or take life as the ‘birds of the air & fish of the sea’ do?

Can we really learn anything from nature? Don’t we humans really have a more complicated life, or do we complicate it unnecessarily?

I wrote about ‘Thy will’ last week, & Ina noted that sounds like surrender. I’m beginning to think surrender is a worthy approach but how can a control oriented human say that, let alone accept it?

I do now ‘see’ that frustration is a path that I create. It is something I do to myself. It is a choice.

I can blame others but usually it’s a matter of expectations, mine. I expect more of them than they expect of themselves, I want them to achieve goals that I have set, I want them to act in a way that I believe is the right way to act under those circumstances. If none of the above happen then things can be quite upsetting, quite frustrating.

Who set the parameters to which my frustration levels & blood pressure ran up against? I did. If I remove those parameters or expectations then it is my blood & frustration levels that come down.

When we create circumstances that put us in a vise situation, we worry & fear. If we continue along that same path until things completely get out of hand then ultimately we need to give up, throw in the towel, leave things in Thy hands, or serious damage can result. Heart attacks, stroke, & other physical ailments come from our inability to control our own mind & circumstances. Blaming others won’t alleviate the ramifications, in fact it enhances them. Others will continue to do what others do, as my ex partner used to say “don’t be surprised when people act like people”.

Ok, but how does one go out to earn one’s daily bread & not react to co-workers or clients/customers that continually do things that don’t go according to plan? The answer: accept it , accept them for the imperfect beings we all are.

Is there an alternative? Yes, as Joseph Campbell says:

‘Find your bliss & Follow it’,

David