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Columns Cyndee Peters Surrender Makes You Strong
Columns Cyndee Peters Surrender Makes You Strong
| Surrender Makes You Strong |
| Skrivet av Cyndee Peters |
| 2009-05-15 22:36 |
 I know this can sounds like a contradiction in terms, but I don’t feel that it is. I mean, think about it. When you’ve spent both your energy and time in resisting something you knew you couldn’t change no matter how much effort you put into it, in the end did it make you feel powerful or did it make you feel weak? I am neither the “throw in the towel” nor the “lie down and play dead” type and I have plenty of scars both external and internal to prove it. But I don’t consider these the badges of courage that I once did. Well, not all of them. There are a few I am quite proud of. BUT most of them could have been avoided. I would have learned more and faster if I had understood that the saying “He who lives and walks away, lives to fight another day.” really has a lot merit. Fight or flight -- you know that little warning system in all living beings? In humans, the source is adrenalin. It is there for a reason. It is what has kept us here as a species and from perishing altogether for thousands of years. As the development of human beings progressed and with it our brains, there arose a conflict. Our brain, (the home of the ego, if you will) often found itself in conflict with the signals being sent to us by this very primitive warning system. More sophisticated weapons placed us far away from what we perceived as danger. The results of our actions, words, and deeds were often not seen. Technology, telephones, computers, fax machines, e-mails, etc. or others we hired, elected, or recruited kept us a safe distance away from the consequences of our actions, words and deeds. Accountability became a word that soon faded into the background. Accountability was only for the un-hip, the un-cool, those who couldn’t hack it. Marianne Williamson has quite rightly said that in the end it will be as the Beatitudes state: “The meek shall inherit the earth”, because everybody else will have fallen on their swords. With time and experience, I have come to understand that surrender in some instances, could indeed be a gift. You can neither re-group nor recuperate in the midst of battle. And you can seldom, if ever, learn anything while in conflict. You’re too busy trying to stay alive. And there is certainly no possibility of stepping back and assessing the situation when someone or something has you in its grip. Many animals know this instinctively. They surrender, even play dead just for a few seconds and, as their predator relaxes its grip, they bolt to safety. This doesn’t always work, but it is certainly one of the things we should have in our arsenal! Am I saying never stand up and fight? Absolutely not. If you’ve read any of my musings you know that is not me. I’m simply saying choose your battles as wisely as possible. Who you are is far more important that what you may encounter or anything you may gain by winning. Remember that fox and those sour grapes! Losing can sometimes be very beneficial. If you think I’m wrong, then ask Tiger, Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, Michael Jordan, Cyndee Peters etc. Ask yourself. “What would it do for a man to gain the whole world, and mess around and lose his soul?” (as paraphrased in an old gospel)  Cyndee This article is the property of Cyndee Peters AB, Stockholm, Sweden and may not be used or duplicated
without the expressed permission of the author. www.cyndeepeters.com April 2009
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