I remember Jack Boland telling the story of a friend of his who was in a Master Mind Group and was practicing the principles but had a really hard time accepting the idea of surrender. He was a rugged individualist, a self-determined man who had always forged ahead on his own terms. He was struggling now in several areas of his life, not least in his feeling of being lost and alone in the challenges facing him.

 

This man then had a dream which turned his life around and which he recounted in the following manner: “I dreamed I was by myself on a bicycle built for two, a tandem, and I was pedaling along country roads enjoying myself as I rode. But then the road I was on gradually became steeper and steeper, until I was not able to go any further; I was out of breath, exhausted, and I came to a stop.

 

“As I stood there, straddling the bicycle, trying to catch my breath, I glanced over to my right and saw a young man standing there smiling. He was radiant and I had the feeling he was right there at that place and time because somehow he knew that’s where I would run out of gas. I asked him, ‘Can you help me?’ He nodded and, smiling broadly, came over to me and climbed on the rear seat of the bicycle; with a push on the pedals we were off along the road.

 

“The steep hill I had been climbing now seemed like it took no effort at all and we pedaled along at a fair clip, up hill and down dale. After a while I was looking around and enjoying it so much that I stopped pedaling. That was when the bicycle came to a halt and the young man stepped off and said to me, ‘You’ve got to keep pumping. I’m always ready and available to help you but you also have to help yourself. You’ve got to keep pumping.’

 

“It was then that I understood that surrender was not giving up or giving in, but was giving my life over to a higher power. I was to surrender my personal will to Divine Will, and cooperate with the Spirit of God within me.”

 

This man’s life changed after he had that dream, and changed for the better as he gave up his need to control every aspect of his life and allowed God within to guide and direct his path.

 

 

There’s an interesting Taoist story that was told by Chuang Tzu about Confucius whom he sometimes presents as a Taoist master. In the story Confucius and some of his students are on a side trip to see a beautiful waterfall. One of the students said he had grown up near a waterfall and that he and other children often went swimming there. Another student said that the waterfall they were going to see wasn’t fit for swimming; the water fell from a great height and with such force that it made the water turbulent and much too dangerous for swimming.

 

They were able to hear the roar of the waterfall before they could see it, and could feel the ground trembling. As the waterfall came into view they saw that a man was caught in the turbulent water, being tossed around by the swirling currents. They ran to try to save him but lost sight of him as they went down the hillside to the river below.

 

When they got down to the river a little downstream from the waterfall, they expected to find the body of the man floating in the water or caught on a rock or overhanging tree branch. Instead they saw him casually swimming away from the waterfall and climbing onto the river bank, clearly enjoying himself and singing a little song.

 

Confucius told the man they had been concerned for his life and asked him how he managed to swim there. The man responded that he had grown up around there and began swimming at that spot as a boy. He said he had known the waterfall and its rapids all his life, and just followed the nature of the water.

 

When asked what he meant by that, he said that when the currents threw him around he let them. If they pulled him down, he dives with them. He said that he knew that when he reached the bottom the current would shoot him back up again; he waited for that moment, and when it happened he would swim with it. He said that although the currents are very powerful, they were like a friend he was familiar with. So he could sense what they were going to do and he was able to adjust to their movements.

 

In the story, the waterfall and its rapids represent the challenges we all face as we swim in the river of life. We often feel dragged along by events and helpless; we are overwhelmed and pushed in directions we do not want to go. We struggle to stay afloat and swim, but frequently the water dashes us against the rocks or drags us under.

 

If we respect the nature of reality we can endure reverses and master the flood of events. We don’t just passively “go with the flow” but we are alert to the forces in our environment that push and pull, and once we are aware of a current we can ride it like a surfer on a wave.

(This story is adapted from an epicycle entitled The Swimmer in the Summer 2009 edition of Parabola magazine, previously adapted from “The Waterfall” by Derek Lin on the website www.taoism.net, and based on a story and commentary in the writings of Chuang Tzu.)

 

Both these stories help us reflect on the truth that in our spiritual development, surrender is vital. It means giving up our resistance and letting our God Self direct our lives.

 

 

 

God is Blessing You, Right Now, with Sweet Surrender!

 

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

 

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Rev. Alan Rowbotham, a Unity minister for more than thirty-five years, invites you to enjoy more articles on Spiritual Solutions and/or subscribe to the free Spiritual Solutions newsletter at www.spiritualsolutionsblog.com

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