Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Welcome to youo Odyssey Podcast, where your guides, Tara and Karen invite you on a transformative journey toward wholeness and personal growth.
Each week, we'll discuss topics related to the human experience and offer insights to help you along the way.
Please note, this podcast should not replace medical care or advice. We are not licensed healthcare professionals or mental health therapists.
[00:00:31] Speaker B: If you enjoy.
[00:00:31] Speaker A: If you enjoyed today's episode, subscribe so you don't miss out on our future discussions.
So, explorers, let's dive into today's episode.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: Hey, explorers, it's Tara. Today, Karen and I are inviting you to say yes to Surrendering Daily.
In this episode, we'll discuss how letting go can lead to remarkable change in your lives. We'll explore what it truly means to release control and remain open to the unexpected, and how this can lead to exciting new opportunities and experiences.
So get ready to shift your perspective as we dive into this meaningful conversation about surrender and why it matters.
[00:01:26] Speaker C: Oh, I'm so excited because, y', all, there is nothing like releasing, letting go, surrendering, and then just watching the magic happen. Mm. Oh, it's beautiful.
[00:01:40] Speaker B: I feel that surrender is sometimes, like, a dirty word, like something that we don't want to do and like, we're not trying. Oh, my gosh. Like, oh, you're weak for surrendering and. Yeah, why don't you just push through? First of all, I don't want to push through anything except for to push the babies out of my body. That's all I had to push through. That was okay, no more. Anyway, what I wanted to say was that surrender isn't about giving up. It's really about letting go of the need to control every aspect of our human experience.
[00:02:13] Speaker C: Letting go of the need to control every aspect of our human experience.
[00:02:19] Speaker B: And that requires incredible strength to release our grip and embrace the uncertainty.
[00:02:26] Speaker C: Yes. To be open to.
I don't know what it's going to look like. I'll see. We'll see.
[00:02:32] Speaker B: This active surrender and the strength to do so is within all of us, waiting to be harnessed.
[00:02:39] Speaker C: Yes.
I really do think, especially in our culture, there's that go, go, go, push mentality. Learning about surrender and actually doing it are two different things, obviously, but it's so necessary. It's needed to balance out that push go mentality, that force that make it happen. No pain, no gain. That is not how things transform and evolve. There is a natural opening that happens which only comes from surrender.
[00:03:08] Speaker B: So, explorers, we invite you to consider. What does surrender look like for you?
Can you think of a moment when Letting go led to a surprising, wonderful outcome. We all have our unique stories of surrender, and sharing them can help us understand and support each other. It often starts with a leap of faith to trust the process and allow life to unfold as it should.
[00:03:35] Speaker C: And I think asking explorers to reflect on this is really important because sometimes we don't even realize we're doing it. We realize that we're like white knuckling it, you know, it's like holding on so tight and trying to make things a certain way.
And once you have that awareness, then you can start to practice or you can begin to let go. And, man, it is just so life affirming.
[00:04:00] Speaker B: Yeah. I think about how we can do that if we don't know that we're holding on for dear life is to ask yourself, are there areas where you feel overwhelmed or stressed because you're trying to maintain control, trying to have it be perfect, trying to have it look a certain way.
[00:04:15] Speaker C: Perfection.
[00:04:16] Speaker B: Yes. And then considering how might surrendering in those situations lead to more peace and clarity?
[00:04:25] Speaker C: Yeah. Just a little space, like, so you can just take a minute.
[00:04:30] Speaker B: What if you gave yourself permission to step back from the challenge?
[00:04:34] Speaker C: What if?
[00:04:35] Speaker B: What if?
[00:04:35] Speaker C: What if indeed?
[00:04:36] Speaker B: What if you did that?
[00:04:37] Speaker C: Is that so? Try that. Give yourself permission to step back and be like, hold on, let's see what happens. Yeah.
[00:04:44] Speaker B: How would it feel to allow the unexpected to enter your life?
[00:04:49] Speaker C: I mean, it's supposed to be an adventure, right? This journey is supposed to be an adventure. There are supposed to be surprises. How boring. If I went to a movie where I knew everything that was going to happen, I'd be walking out 10 minutes in. I don't want to know everything that's happening. This is so boring.
[00:05:05] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:05:05] Speaker C: I want the adventure. I want the surprise.
[00:05:07] Speaker B: You want the adventure box. All right.
Karen's accepting the life adventure challenge.
I know explorers surrender can often feel and sound and seem daunting and bring with it a wealth of emotional and psychological things that happen.
[00:05:28] Speaker C: Oh, there's so much baggage with that concept. There's so much baggage. What will people say? How will this be perceived? Will my life fall apart? Will everything get done?
[00:05:38] Speaker B: But there are so many benefits when we surrender, including, like, it reduces our stress and anxiety. I just was speaking a little bit about in those areas that you feel overwhelmed, like, you can't handle it all.
[00:05:50] Speaker C: Like, that's because you can't handle it all. Don't.
[00:05:53] Speaker B: You cannot handle it all. Oh, stop. When we shift our minds in that way, we open ourselves up to possibilities and Perspectives, especially when we're talking in community, that we might have overlooked.
Which, at the end of the day, makes me more hopeful.
[00:06:11] Speaker C: Like, I'm just picturing a box. You got this dense box, and it hasn't been opened in years. And I would imagine if it's not moldy, it's super stuffy. There's not a whole lot going on in the box.
What about opening it light of day, fresh air, no preconceived notions or concepts. That's the idea. Opening your mind and your awareness and your heart to the fact that there's a lot at play here and you aren't in control anyway. So pretending that you are is only.
[00:06:40] Speaker B: Stressing you out more.
It's all pretend. It's all make believe. Christopher Robin, Peter Pan.
Oh, my gosh. I think about surrender in relationships and trying not to be in control of the relationship or the other person, how that leads to openness and vulnerability.
When we're open and vulnerable and creating those safe spaces, our authenticity can shine through, our connections can deepen, and then we just trust each other more.
[00:07:10] Speaker C: And it allows you each to grow and not be concerned about what that might mean. You're allowed to grow, explore, and expand.
[00:07:18] Speaker B: It's wonderful and beautiful when you're allowed to grow. It sounds like we're also letting go of judgments when we're surrendering, which opens the door to acceptance and love, forgiveness.
[00:07:35] Speaker C: And which leads to gratitude and then all of the beautiful things. Yeah.
[00:07:40] Speaker B: And surrender in terms of relationship and community.
This tagline came in mind when I was thinking about this episode where it's collaboration over competition.
[00:07:52] Speaker C: She loves a good slogan.
[00:07:53] Speaker B: I do. And I love alliteration and consonants like I love.
[00:07:56] Speaker C: Say it again.
[00:07:57] Speaker B: Love it. Collaboration over competition.
[00:08:01] Speaker C: Yes. In all aspects of society. Could you imagine kids learning that phrase? And especially girls and young women learning that we get more out of collaborating than putting each other down, judging and competing. There's not one way, there's not limited space, there's not limited resources.
So let's just bring all of our openness to it.
[00:08:22] Speaker B: You know how many problems would be solved if we were collaborative?
[00:08:26] Speaker C: I think all of them.
Honestly, I'm pretty sure 100% of them.
[00:08:31] Speaker B: Would be solved if we did that. So if you don't take anything else away from this episode besides the collaboration over competition, I want to say that by embracing surrender as a practice when we can create more meaningful connections and foster, Build, Promote stronger, more resilient communities, each act of surrender can ripple through relationships, leading to a deeper sense of Belonging for everybody. That's it.
[00:09:04] Speaker C: Preach, sister. I love it. Because everything that we experience, things that we let go of, we give others permission to let go of, especially if we're in deep connection relationship with them. And that is just an example for the people they work with and they are in other circles and even the person at the bodega gas station kiosk, like everything affects everyone else. It's all connected.
[00:09:29] Speaker B: Yeah. And definitely surrender.
I don't know why there's this idea that surrender is like this passive process. Like you just lay down and that's it.
[00:09:40] Speaker C: Oh, active. So for me, I mean, if you.
[00:09:43] Speaker B: Think about it in terms of like, I think like warfare, to surrender you have to wave your white flag.
[00:09:50] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:09:51] Speaker B: It don't just show up magically. Like someone had to make your choice to do this and go do it. It's very active. If surrender to you is passive, might I challenge you that you may not be actually surrendering and you might want.
[00:10:05] Speaker C: To look it up in the dictionary like Tara does? I'm not being cheeky. We have these concepts of what these words mean. And I don't know about you, explorers and Tara. I'm thinking I probably don't know all the things, all the things that I think I know.
So I might want to just take a minute and be like, maybe I will open up to the possibility that I don't know what that word means or what that concept is. Tell me more.
[00:10:35] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:10:36] Speaker C: All right. That was a little tough love.
[00:10:37] Speaker B: That. That was a little bit. We're going to bring it back around. It'll be normal Tara and Karen, and we're going to be friendly and offer you some practical ways that you can say surrender daily.
[00:10:48] Speaker C: Some supportive t whatnot.
[00:10:51] Speaker B: It's constructive criticism before. Now we're gonna give you some tools. Okay. The first up is morning intentions.
Start your day by setting an intention to surrender control.
[00:11:03] Speaker C: Honestly, thinking that and saying it out loud is going to bring it in some form into existence.
Right. Just saying it.
[00:11:12] Speaker B: Another way is mindful breathing. A little bit of deep breathing throughout the day to invite in a sense of calm when you feel stress or tension. Take a moment, close your eyes, breathe deeply and focus on releasing any worries or expectations.
[00:11:31] Speaker C: Because if you're coming at work or conversations, relationships, tasks with that intensity, stress and anxiety, it is a much more closed off, controlling, intense feeling than if you willingly, with awareness, stop and notice and breathe, create space. Make that openness part of your daily ritual. Yeah.
[00:12:00] Speaker B: Another way to surrender every day is to let go of perfection.
When you're working on a project or task, allow for mistakes as part of the process. Karen and I did an episode about that where fail is the first attempt in learning. Remind yourself that it's okay not to be perfect and embrace the learning that comes from errors.
[00:12:20] Speaker C: There's much more learning in the messiness and the errors and the imperfections. There's much more discovery and creativity to be had in that space, in that mindset.
[00:12:30] Speaker B: Another way is to embrace flexibility in your plan. Plans often change unexpl unexpectedly. Resist the urge to panic.
Embrace spontaneity. That's the lesson I'm learning right now in this season, y'.
[00:12:43] Speaker C: All.
[00:12:44] Speaker B: And see where the change takes you. Allowing yourself to enjoy the new experience fully.
[00:12:50] Speaker C: Enjoy the exploration, enjoy the unknown, enjoy the where on earth is this?
[00:12:56] Speaker B: Where is this going?
[00:12:57] Speaker C: What is happening to the movie?
[00:12:59] Speaker B: What is happening right now? Yeah, that's. That's my freak out.
[00:13:03] Speaker C: And there's that moment of panic.
[00:13:05] Speaker B: Wait. Get it in check really quickly.
Embrace. Lean into it. Another way is to perform acts of kindness. Volunteer your time or lend a helping hand to someone in need. Surrender your agenda and focus on the act of giving which can provide a sense of peace and fulfillment. Oh, surrender your agenda.
[00:13:26] Speaker C: Surrender your agenda. Surrender your agenda, your agenda, agenda, agenda. Surrender, surrender.
[00:13:37] Speaker B: And the final way that you can practically surrender practically surrender. And the final way you can almost.
[00:13:44] Speaker C: Surrender practically, we're just almost.
[00:13:47] Speaker B: Is to have acceptance in your relationships. When conflicts arise, choose to listen and understand their perspective without immediately reacting. Surrender to the flow of the conversation rather than trying to control its direction.
[00:14:04] Speaker C: Boy, that's a big one. And just know that you don't have to agree to be able to surrender and listen. And it's not about throwing away what you believe, although it is a little bit about throwing away what you're holding onto so tightly. If you find throughout your day you are digging your heels in about something, just take a little peek at that. Take a little look at, like, maybe journal for a minute about, like, why do I feel so strongly about this? It might be something that's really important to you that you value. It might be part of your personal value system.
It also might be coming from another place.
[00:14:40] Speaker B: And now we get to dance.
All right, explorers. This song, I've listened to it a lot of times today, and I feel like once you hear it, you'll probably be singing it like I have now.
And she's like, what? What is it? What are you.
[00:14:57] Speaker C: What are we going.
[00:14:58] Speaker B: I don't know if you're going to get it. So I'm just going to go ahead and tell you what it is. The song for today's episode is river by Leon Bridges.
[00:15:06] Speaker C: Leon Bridges. I love Leon Bridges.
[00:15:09] Speaker B: Me too.
[00:15:13] Speaker A: Check out this week's song on the YO podcast playlist on some Spotify.
[00:15:22] Speaker B: There we go.
[00:15:24] Speaker C: Take me to the river.
This the feeling I have after listening to that. Moving to that song is for sure a sense of peace, but it is a sense of, I don't got to worry about it. I don't got to take care of it.
It's gonna be just fine.
Which is the essence of surrender.
[00:15:47] Speaker B: The essence of surrender.
[00:15:50] Speaker C: Listen to that 17 times a day.
[00:15:52] Speaker B: I'm friends listen to it after we leave. It's such a soulful message that reminds us to go with the flow of life and accept our journey as it comes. What did he say in the song? He's like, but my hands are clean. And something about his lips. And it's just like we've all done. There's blood on his lips are unclean.
That's all of us. That's all of our story.
But when we go to the river and we get in the flow, we.
[00:16:21] Speaker C: Go to that metaphorical sacred river where we just let things unfold.
[00:16:28] Speaker B: As a reminder, surrender is not passive. Like you are letting go of control, but you are being free, fully present and fully participatory in this experience.
[00:16:38] Speaker C: Letting go is a very active action.
Not a lot of us are good at it. It is a practice. There's a bit of an awareness and a distance you have to get from something to be able to just let go.
[00:16:52] Speaker B: Absolutely. So, Mr. Leon Bridges, thank you so much.
[00:16:56] Speaker C: He just took us to the church of the river.
[00:17:00] Speaker B: Definitely going on my grounding playlist. Okay.
[00:17:02] Speaker D: It feels good.
[00:17:03] Speaker B: We chatted a little bit about surrendering daily. Say yes to surrendering daily. We've danced it out. We sat by the river. We swayed by the river. And now it's time for our question of the day.
[00:17:16] Speaker C: And I am just fully embracing and letting go and surrendering to this question like, it's all good. I'm not feeling anxious or worried about it.
[00:17:25] Speaker B: How could you after that song?
[00:17:27] Speaker C: Yeah, it's just in. That song is in my blood. It's in my veins. So let's go.
[00:17:31] Speaker B: All right, today's question.
What is one thing you can surrender today to make space for growth and healing?
[00:17:43] Speaker C: My worry about how it's all going to get figured out. This whole business of business and this whole, like, where's my rent coming from? Just Releasing the worry, the concern, and becoming infused and immersed in the trust of this. In the trust of life, really.
[00:18:01] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, I love that. Surrendering the worry.
I don't know if this is a today thing. It's definitely a everyday thing, as I am in this part of our business and the growth. For a little bit, I really honed in on the almost. It's not rigidness, because it still has softness around the edges of doing things. And I went completely the opposite direction, and I was like, I don't want to do nothing, whatever. So, like, finding the beautiful balance, which I think right now, as I'm in the flow this week feels good.
[00:18:33] Speaker C: And then you found a sweet spot.
[00:18:35] Speaker B: This. I found the sweet spot. I got back in the kitchen, I started cooking. Me and my husband having real deep conversations about life stuff and work stuff and family. And I think it's a really good time for us.
As we navigate a semester of empty nesters, we lean into each other and discover who we are and make space for all of the changes that are beautiful and coming.
[00:18:56] Speaker C: Yeah, for sure. You're in that. Really.
[00:18:59] Speaker B: It's good, y'. All. Look, I'm.
[00:19:01] Speaker C: It's like a real fertile, like, organic period.
[00:19:05] Speaker B: Like the cucumbers in my garden and.
[00:19:07] Speaker C: Yeah. Which are huge. Yes. They are, like, gorgeous.
[00:19:11] Speaker B: Some B roll of me harvesting my.
[00:19:13] Speaker C: Giant cucumbers because they're as big as her head. Like, they're huge.
Also, I observed you doing that. I observed what you just stated about all the things to the. None of the things to that happy medium, that peaceful, flowing river place. And it looks good on you.
[00:19:31] Speaker B: Oh, I love the river place.
[00:19:35] Speaker C: We at the river place now.
[00:19:37] Speaker B: River place. I like it here.
We're at the river place. Monday in therapy, she had me journaling about something, and she was like, what. What verse or passage comes to mind? And I said the 23rd Psalm. Where? And what I said specifically from that is, he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Aw.
Are we serious right now?
[00:20:02] Speaker C: I love when she gets light bulbs like this. I love it so much.
[00:20:06] Speaker B: That was only a few days ago.
[00:20:08] Speaker C: And ever since, like, you've been allowing the stillness and the surrender so that you could be in the flow. Isn't that interesting?
You had to say yes to the stillness so that you could be in the flow. When we say yes to the stillness and the surrender, it is so that we can be in the organic, natural flow of our lives. The reason why we're here, all of the things that have lined up and led us to this moment.
[00:20:37] Speaker B: I'm gonna pick myself up off the floor because there's so many goosebumps. I'm like, what? I'm wrap this episode real quick right now. Okay, not before I give you the quote though.
[00:20:46] Speaker C: That's the line you said.
[00:20:48] Speaker B: That is what I said. Wow. And I'm just me out days later, like, oh, that's how it happens. That's what happened.
[00:20:56] Speaker C: That's what happened.
Okay, well, she gonna close.
[00:21:02] Speaker B: Oh, my God. And I know I'm not because now I know where. Remember we were talking about, like right now? And I was like, where did that come from? It came from somewhere. And if I remember, girl, it's the quote.
[00:21:12] Speaker C: Oh, stop it.
When we talked last night, like, I.
[00:21:16] Speaker B: Don'T know, it's somewhere and it was recent, but I don't know where it's from.
[00:21:19] Speaker C: This is hilarious.
[00:21:21] Speaker B: I'm going to bed. I'm going to bed after that.
[00:21:23] Speaker C: But we're back in it though. You know what I mean?
[00:21:24] Speaker B: I'm going to bed. I'm gonna go take a nap by the river. That's a I'm about to do because this is too much for me anyway.
Okay, today's quote is from Eckhart Tole. Yeah, girl. Love that little man from the book. Practicing the power of now.
[00:21:42] Speaker C: Practicing the power of now. I've read the power of now.
[00:21:44] Speaker B: There's another part. Practicing the. That's where it came from.
[00:21:48] Speaker C: The power of now was life changing for me. And I mean that in the deepest, most beautiful sense. So let's hear it. Let's have it right.
[00:21:55] Speaker B: Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life.
Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life.
[00:22:13] Speaker C: When we talked before about the flow and getting in the river, I was thinking, as opposed to swimming upstream and flow, fighting the tide and fighting the current. Like that image came into my head. Like, it's just so much better, dare I say easier and just more organic to just let it take you just flow. Get in the flow.
[00:22:38] Speaker B: Eckhart's reminding us that surrendering is not about giving up or being passive. It's about recognizing that natural flow of life and allowing ourselves to be open to it. Remember, surrender is active. Wave your white leg.
[00:22:54] Speaker C: Yeah. Yielding is not a dirty word. Yielding to surrendering, allowing, letting go. These are not dirty words. These are not passive, negative, laziness. They are intentional. They are important. They are life changing explorers.
[00:23:12] Speaker B: As we wrap up today's wonderfully powerful episode, take a moment to reflect on the power of surrender that we've explored together.
Surrendering doesn't mean we're giving up. We're just releasing our grip on control and allowing life to unfold in ways we might never have imagined.
By embracing surrender, we can lighten our emotional load, nurture our relationships, and invite peace into our lives.
[00:23:44] Speaker C: Amen, sister. Amen sister.
[00:23:47] Speaker B: So as you step into the coming days, weeks, months, years, consider practical ways that you can incorporate surrender into your routine.
Thank you so much for joining us on this journey today. If you found value in this episode, we invite you to share it with others who might might benefit. Don't forget to subscribe to our podcast for more meaningful conversations and insights and we'd love to hear your thoughts. Share your experiences of surrender by reaching out to us on Instagram at your Odyssey life. Leave a comment, send us a dm, whatever it is. But until next time, remember to stay open, lean into the flow of life and embrace the beauty of survival.
[00:24:30] Speaker C: Surrender and I think all I want to say is allow yourself a nap because I think we're gonna both go take a nap. This was amazing. Thank you for your time and attention.
Thank you for considering the art and the act of letting go and allowing your life to unfold. We're so excited for you on your journey and we love you so much. Take good care of thank you to.
[00:25:01] Speaker D: Queenies in Downtown Durham for the use of their community podcast studio and for welcoming us so warmly.
[00:25:07] Speaker B: Each week.
[00:25:10] Speaker D: We'D like to give a shout out to Coco Cinnamon, the birthplace of 1023 Media and the yo podcast. Please support your local women owned minority owned coffee shop in Downtown Durham.
Brought to you by Durham based 1023 Media, a heart centered woman owned multimedia company.
