Surrender

Spin. Spin spin spin. 8 billion people, 8 billion souls, 8 billion stories, yet we all depend and rely on the same routine.

“It’s a boy” she cried, “We have a son!” She grasped him with her loving hands, as if she would never let him go again. She froze, speechless. Tears of joy brushed across her exasperated face, like an endless stream. He stared at her with passion, emotions stirring, disbelief that he was now a father and both the excitement and fear of having to take on a world of responsibility and commitment.

Two blocks down. The desperate screams of a little girl wake up an entire neighbourhood, yet no one lifts a finger. Her dad, intoxicated as usual, beating her, as if the innocent soul, his very own blood was some sort of predator out to get him. Sickening.

Cross country. A 17 year old kid, tired, beat and alone standing on the very edge of a bridge, desperately trying to find a reason to keep holding on to the railings but failing to do so. The wind brushes across his cheeks in perfect synchronisation with the memories of his self-deemed worthless life flashing before his eyes. He takes in a deep breath. “Fuck it” he says. “Fuck all of it”. He surrenders to gravity, letting go of the tightly gripped railings. Just as he is about to go into freefall, he notices an unfamiliar warmth around his chest. Yes, it’s the warmth of a loving, kind stranger who’s come from nowhere to provide the kid with that feeling he’s been longing for all his life – the feeling that there’s someone out there who cares. The feeling that love, friendship and compassion is still possible. Some would call this hope. And from that moment onwards, he had a reason to hold on, to keep fighting, to live for another day.

And then there’s me. And there’s you. We all have our own stories, our own challenges. And then there’s billions of others. I think we all need to remember this more often. Sometimes we get caught up in a moment, anxious, worried or excited, and we feel as though the world revolves around us. Every single second these things are happening – and we are certainly not the centre of the universe. We are all unique and important in our own way, but sometimes we need to ground ourselves and remember our place. Our thoughts and feelings are important, but they are not enough to change every single thing that goes on around us to be the way we want them to be. We can’t have every single person like us. We can’t have every single person behave the way we want, or do the things we want them to do.

I think sometimes, we need to remember our place, and realise that a lot of the internal chatter that goes on within our minds is a waste of energy, a lot of the anger and stress and dissatisfaction is caused by our expectations which are often, when you look at them objectively, unreasonable. Think about it. Is it reasonable to expect every single event to unfold the way you want it to? Is it reasonable to expect everyone to like you? Billions of things are going on in this world, billions of souls all going through different walks of life. You are important, you are unique. But sometimes it’s better to surrender yourself to the natural flow of things and remember that the world does not revolve around you. There is a natural process. The world keeps spinning, plants keep growing, the sun goes up and then it goes down again, and life goes on... Remember that.

PS: Not entirely pleased with this piece, but it's been a while and I haven't been able to perfect it so I wanted to share. Let me know what you think!