Surrender - A Lesson From Nature

Over the last couple of weeks I have been going for daily walks around the spawning channels by the golf course. I remembered that around the same time last year the salmon were spawning in large numbers. This year that was not the case, when I started walking, there wasn't even any water in the channels, they were completely dry. For some reason this brought me some anxiety and concern which I simply observed and was curious about. 

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“Something amazing happens when we surrender and just love. We melt into another world, a realm of power already within us. The world changes when we change. the world softens when we soften. The world loves us when we choose to love the world.” ~  Marianne Williamson

After about 4 or 5 days the rain started and immediately the water levels began to rise. A day or two later, the river level rose up and joined the spawning channel. Over the next 2 - 3 days I watched for the salmon and didn't see any. I continued to reflect on my feelings of anxiety and as I walked I tried to get to the core of what I was feeling. Then it finally happened, I saw that there were salmon in the channels. I felt excitement and relief while I watched them. They were almost invisible against the rocks as they were low in numbers which means they may have been there before and I just couldn't see them. The next day I walked right along side the channel and observed all the salmon and also stopped to read some of the informational signs about the spawning channel. Turns out that the salmon will arrive anywhere between Oct. and Dec. My mind had created a story that the salmon "should" have been there much sooner because my photos from last year were dated mid October.

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Then it hit me ..... I was actually questioning the perfection of nature. Nature is a powerful teacher. I realized how silly some of my human thoughts had been as I was worried about the salmon and their well being. My assumption is that nature intuitively & continuously adjusts, going with the flow, while honouring the cycle and adjusting as needed. Accepting, trusting and surrendering to what is. 

We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world. ~ Buddha

The gift of this whole experience came when I asked myself the question. "Where in your life are you unable to surrender?" I could think of one current situation (of course) and many past situations where I had refused to surrender which created so much struggle. When we truly surrender, there is a palpable sense of relief. We avoid surrender because our mind says that we are giving up. 

When you surrender, you are saying YES to 3 things:

Awareness ~ Saying yes to awareness, means you are taking a step back and observing the situation from a higher level. You are willing to look in the mirror.
Acceptance ~ When you accept what is you are releasing your grip. You are releasing what you may have been intensely holding on to. 
Trust ~ You are opening your arms to the vast array of possibilities and outcomes that exist. You may not know "how" things will work out. Yet you know that they will.

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