Last year, I experienced a health scare that really put my life into perspective. It made me look closely at my priorities and the outside influences I was attaching my happiness to.
I remember sitting in the doctor’s office looking for a sense of control and comfort. I had no answers from doctors, no family by my side. I couldn’t go to work, to the job I had placed a lot of importance on. Everything I relied on for security was gone.
In moments like these, you have two options: you can either be overwhelmed by the pain and suffering, or you can grow, learn and surrender to a greater power. After many failed attempts trying to control the outcome of this situation, I decided my only option left was to turn inward, to dig deep, to surrender.
Through this experience, my faith became even stronger. I realized I cannot control my life, nor should I want to. There is a much bigger plan for me than I can even imagine. Why would I want to control that?
I look back to what led up to this life-changing event and I see the patterns of stress, fear and anxiety that created this downward spiral. I thought I needed to look to the outside world for control and answers, but really all I needed was the opposite – to look within and surrender.
I turned to prayer, meditation, and my faith to guide me to my healing. A prayer that I now say every morning from “A Course In Miracles,” is:
Where would You have me go?
What would You have me do?
What would You have me say? And to whom?
I have found starting my days with this prayer and 20 minutes of meditation has transformed my entire life. Surrendering is a choice that you must make each moment. Now when I am feeling stress, fear or control – I take a deep breath and just let go. It’s that simple.
Life is a journey, and I am so excited to continue growing, learning and becoming the person this greater power created me to be.
Have you had an experience that’s changed how you look at life? How do you overcome stress and negativity in order to move toward a life of clarity, gratitude and authenticity?