Surrender
Friday, December 2nd, 2022At 5:57pm on Wednesday, November 23rd the Moon was New again. I have known about this theme since then and had wanted to post this – but holidays, band gigs, birthdays, and the like happened first. If we are going to reflect on life, it’s important to remember to live it as well!
Last cycle’s theme of Reciprocity was in reaction to the prior cycle’s focus on Wanting. In thinking about Reciprocity, I thought about the acts of Wanting and Receiving, and how being open to Getting what we Give, and Giving what we might wish to Receive, are all gathered in a similar construct. This reminded me of Betty Martin’s “Wheel of Consent” – where the acts of Giving/Taking/Allowing/Receiving are all quadrants in a wheel.
Through this journey of allowing myself to Want, and understanding that my nature is to embrace Reciprocity, I acknowledge that the aforementioned Giving/Taking/Allowing/Receiving are all actions. Reminiscent of Massive Attack’s song “Teardrop” which opens “love, love is a verb – love is a doing word”. But what happens when we don’t have the spoons to act?
This brings us to this cycle’s theme – Surrender. By Surrender, I am not necessarily implying that a Want is no longer worth working for, but rather sometimes it’s necessary to relieve ourselves of our self-imposed obligation to do the work. Instead of swimming in a current, leave ourselves open to where the current might take us.
Surrendering to the currents of a Want can be scary – without our persistent momentum against resistance, we fear we would lose whatever precious ground we might have gained. This is why Surrender here is geared more toward intent than action – to change focus and perception – to understand that Having, while still good and important, must be measured against personal cost.
Or as Cheap Trick so eloquently sang: Surrender, surrender – but don’t give yourself away.
