We make plans.
For our careers…Our families…Our relationships…Our finances.
Sometimes even for how we imagine our lives should look five or ten years from now.
And then life happens.
The opportunity doesn’t come…Someone disappoints us…A door we were certain would open remains firmly closed…Or something completely unexpected changes everything.
I’ve been reflecting on how much of our peace can depend on life unfolding according to the picture we’ve created in our minds.
When things go to plan, we’re happy.
When they don’t, we struggle.
But perhaps there is another way to live.
There is a beautiful principle within the Bhagavad Gita: we have a responsibility to give our best to what is in front of us, but we cannot completely control the outcome.
That sounds simple but living it is much harder.
Because most of us don’t only want to do our best.
We want to know how the story ends.
We want reassurance that our effort will be rewarded. That the decision we’re making is the right one. That everything will eventually work out exactly as we hope.
But life rarely gives us that guarantee…and perhaps it isn’t supposed to.
Some of the most meaningful experiences in my own life have come through doors I hadn’t planned to walk through.
Looking back, things that once felt like interruptions sometimes turned out to be redirections.
Things I couldn’t understand at the time eventually made sense…and some still don’t.
Maybe wisdom isn’t reaching a point where we understand everything that happens to us…Maybe it is developing enough trust to keep walking even when we don’t.
That doesn’t mean becoming passive.
We still work hard…We still dream…We still make plans…We still give our very best.
But perhaps we can learn to hold the outcome a little more lightly.
There is a freedom in being able to say: “I will give this everything I have, but I don’t need to control what happens next.”
Because sometimes the path we are desperately trying to force isn’t necessarily the path that will ultimately help us grow.
So there are two questions I find myself sitting with:
What am I trying too hard to control right now?
And what might happen if, instead of holding it tighter, I trusted a little more?
Perhaps surrender isn’t giving up.
Perhaps surrender is doing everything we can, while having enough faith to leave some room for life and the Divine to surprise us.
Jagannātha Dās
Come and Experience It
If these reflections resonate with you, why not come and experience kirtan for yourself?
Every Friday, we come together at OMNOM Birmingham for an evening of mantra, music, meditation and community. I also share kirtan at retreats, festivals and gatherings throughout the year.
Whether you’ve experienced kirtan many times or you’re completely new, you’re warmly welcome.
See all upcoming events:
https://jagannathadas.com/events
Continue the Journey
Insight is my weekly reflection on mantra, life and the inner journey.
If you’d like to receive future editions directly, you can subscribe completely free.
Subscribe:
https://jagannathadas.com/subscribe