The Practice of Surrender: A Lesson from Beauty from Chaos

I’ll be honest: surrender doesn’t come naturally to me.

By nature, I’m someone who likes to plan and control. My personality thrives on structure and knowing exactly how things will unfold. For years, I held onto my plans with a clenched fist, convinced that if I could just control every detail, everything would work out exactly as I wanted.

But life has a way of teaching us otherwise. I’ve learned that holding on too tightly often leads to frustration, missed opportunities, and a sense of overwhelm. It’s only when I consciously remind myself to let go—when I practice holding my plans in an open hand—that I create space for the unexpected beauty and opportunities that life has to offer.

This lesson doesn’t come easily to me, and it’s something I have to work on every day. But I can tell you this: the more I practice surrender, the happier and more aligned I feel.

Letting go doesn’t mean giving up. It means trusting that life has more in store for you than you can see right now. It means stepping back from the need to control every outcome and opening yourself to possibilities you may not have imagined.

Chapter 12 of Beauty from Chaos is a reflection on this very idea. It’s about learning to release the plans and expectations that don’t serve us, so we can make room for something better. For me, that “something better” has been a life filled with freedom, creativity, and connection—a life I couldn’t have planned if I’d clung too tightly to my original path.

If surrender feels challenging for you, start small. Practice letting go of one thing—a plan, a fear, or even a minor expectation—and see what happens. I think you’ll find, as I have, that life has a way of surprising you when you make room for it.

Call to Action:

Explore Chapter 12 of Beauty from Chaos for more stories and tools to help you practice surrender and embrace the unexpected. Remember, letting go isn’t giving up—it’s creating space for something greater.