Surrender, Melody Beattie:
“Master the lessons of your present circumstances.
We do not move forward by resisting what is undesirable in our life today. We move forward, we grow, we change by acceptance.
Avoidance is not the key; surrender opens the door.
Listen to this truth: We are each in our present circumstances for a reason. There is a lesson, a valuable lesson, that must be learned before we can move forward.
Something important is being worked out in us, and in those around us. We may not be able to identify it today, but we can know that it is important. We can know it is good.
Overcome not by force, overcome by surrender. The battle is fought, and won, inside ourselves. We must go through it until we learn, until we accept, until we become grateful, until we are set free.
Today, I will be open to the lessons of my present circumstances. I do not have to label, know, or understand what I'm learning; I will see clearly in time. For today, trust and gratitude are sufficient.”

I read this in our meditation today and yoga class because I loved reading it myself and thought it might ring for someone.

Summer carries a different energy. The days are longer, the invitations are more frequent and maybe overwhelming. There can be a feeling that we should do more, be more, experience more.

But yoga and meditation remind us that a meaningful life is not created by reacting to everything around us. It is created by choosing.

Our intention this month: I choose.

Not “I should.”
Not “I have to.”
Not “Everyone else is.”

I choose……(you fill it in)

I choose how I spend my energy.
I choose what I say yes to.
I choose what I say no to.
I choose what I nourish with my attention.
I choose what I release.

The surrender meditation from above had me pause to think if there was any part of my life right now that I am resisting which in turn is blocking my ability to choose what is right for me and my summer.

Again and again we need to get grounded, or at least I need to get grounded so I can choose what fills me up and what serves those around me. Remember, grounding doesn’t come from having less to do. It comes from returning to ourselves often enough to remember what matters.