For the longest time, I struggled to accept that there was nothing I could do to reverse the symptoms of my disease. I held out hope that an effective treatment was just around the corner. It left me in a holding pattern where I couldn't move forward with life because I wanted to regain my strength first. Once it became clear this wasn't going to happen, I couldn't accept it. I stagnated for several years. Eventually I reached a point of acceptance and was able to pursue my goals. It wasn't an epiphany as much as a gradual surrender to reality.
Really powerful Chris....by breaking down your steps to gradual surrender, we can recognize our own struggles and maybe accelerate into surrender ourselves....
Love Sue’s piece, and the comic strip, and the Zinsser book (which I just bought based on your rec!).
This week’s act of surrender: I got a storage unit and filled it with 15 boxes from my mom’s house. I’d successfully dealt with another dozen already, but the paring-down process was starting to weigh on my psyche...and my living room had become unlivable.
I decided that moving stuff into storage wasn’t “giving up” or “accepting defeat” but rather giving myself grace with the whole process. I’m glad I did! 🙌
Great reminders for me this week, and thanks for sharing Sue's piece. Since I can't control my body in most ways, I've made it my life's mission to try to control everything else and to plan everything out so that nothing can possibly go wrong (spoiler alert: it still does). It's pretty much led to a lot of disappointment and unhappiness. Always working on allowing myself to just let go, to ask for help, to realize I don't have to go it alone, and that to accept is the greatest form of release.
Love the advice of picking one person in the audience to focus on and I never thought of using that when writing posts. I'm going to use that one and look for a copy of the writing book at the library tomorrow. THANK YOU!
Thanks Chris for the shoutout....and for being a fellow traveler in the learn-to-surrender aspects of life. And like Maddie I am going to buy the Zinsser book right now!
My example:
For the longest time, I struggled to accept that there was nothing I could do to reverse the symptoms of my disease. I held out hope that an effective treatment was just around the corner. It left me in a holding pattern where I couldn't move forward with life because I wanted to regain my strength first. Once it became clear this wasn't going to happen, I couldn't accept it. I stagnated for several years. Eventually I reached a point of acceptance and was able to pursue my goals. It wasn't an epiphany as much as a gradual surrender to reality.
Really powerful Chris....by breaking down your steps to gradual surrender, we can recognize our own struggles and maybe accelerate into surrender ourselves....
Thanks Sue!
Love Sue’s piece, and the comic strip, and the Zinsser book (which I just bought based on your rec!).
This week’s act of surrender: I got a storage unit and filled it with 15 boxes from my mom’s house. I’d successfully dealt with another dozen already, but the paring-down process was starting to weigh on my psyche...and my living room had become unlivable.
I decided that moving stuff into storage wasn’t “giving up” or “accepting defeat” but rather giving myself grace with the whole process. I’m glad I did! 🙌
That's a big accomplishment!
Love this Maddie - - giving yourself grace and space!
Thanks, Chris and Sue! 🥰
Great reminders for me this week, and thanks for sharing Sue's piece. Since I can't control my body in most ways, I've made it my life's mission to try to control everything else and to plan everything out so that nothing can possibly go wrong (spoiler alert: it still does). It's pretty much led to a lot of disappointment and unhappiness. Always working on allowing myself to just let go, to ask for help, to realize I don't have to go it alone, and that to accept is the greatest form of release.
Thanks for sharing, Jackie. I can definitely relate to all that you said!
Love the advice of picking one person in the audience to focus on and I never thought of using that when writing posts. I'm going to use that one and look for a copy of the writing book at the library tomorrow. THANK YOU!
Thanks Jonathan!
Another great post - thank you. The William Zinsser book has been on my list for a while - I'm shifting it right now from 'saved items' to 'basket'!
Yay! Enjoy!
Thanks Chris for the shoutout....and for being a fellow traveler in the learn-to-surrender aspects of life. And like Maddie I am going to buy the Zinsser book right now!
Happy to! Thank you for writing content I can share every week!