What is surrender?
I got thinking about this and so I went to my friendly dictionary.com to find out what they had to say about surrender. I was dreadfully disappointed with the definitions that I found. Let me give you the first two definitions.
sur·ren·der [suh-ren-der]
–verb (used with object)
1.
to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress: to surrender the fort to the enemy; to surrender the stolen goods to the police.
2.
to give (oneself) up, as to the police.
From this definition, I get the idea that surrender is bad. Surrender is something that only criminals do. Surrender is for the bad guys in the movie where the good guys finally win out. Surrender is the waving of this tattered white scrap of clothe on the end of a shattered stick. Surrender is to be scorned.
"Don't Give Up!!!"
This phrase has become a motto for Americans. Surrender is for the weak. If you want to get anywhere in life, you have to obstinately pursue your own way and never give up. To surrender is to proclaim your weakness.
Personally, I have always hated the word surrender and any word that was in any way, shape, or form connected with it. Surrender is not something that I willingly embrace in my own life. When I was a child, I was often called 'stubborn' or 'obstinate.' Just because I'm older doesn't mean those names don't apply to me any longer. In fact, I'm probably just better at hiding these sometimes unpleasant qualities.
What is surrender?
Surrender cannot be totally bad. After all, war comes to an end with a surrender. May haps, surrender is more of an accurate measurement of strength because surrender is a letting go of one's own will. The following are some quotes that seem to describe what surrender is.
I was being called to surrender the very citadel of my self. I was completely in the dark. I did not really know what repentance was or what I was required to repent of. It was indeed the turning point of my life.
Bede Griffiths
If you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you live more richly those moments.
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
If you want to make someone feel emotion, you have to make them let go. Listening to something is an act of surrender.
Brian Eno
The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.
Julia Cameron
Give up all bad qualities in you, banish the ego and develop the spirit of surrender. You will then experience Bliss. - Sri Sathya Sai Baba
At fifteen life had taught me undeniably that surrender, in its place, was as honorable as resistance, especially if one had no choice. - Maya Angelou
