(Photo credit: Sangeeta Mahajan. Exeter)

“I am trying so hard. What more can I do?”

Our unmet expectations, people’s insensitivities and our own regrets and strife are recurring themes in our discussions within the Circle of Remembrance, a peer support group for parents bereaved by suicide.

Caught up in coping with our life and getting rid of a negative sense of self or tolerating something someone said or did or didn’t, our focus on ourselves does not fade.

What if we stop the war on ourselves?

Stop all effort of fixing, doing, striving. Take a pause.

Buddha’s greatest disciple was Ananda. Until Buddha’s death Ananda was deeply devoted to him. After his death when the great council of the Enlightened was called, Ananda was not invited. Despite all his hard work, he had not reached Enlightenment. So, that evening he sat down to meditate, determined to attain full enlightenment. He practiced vigorously all night. After many hours he was exhausted. No progress! He was discouraged. Towards dawn, he decided to let go of the striving and just lie down and rest. The moment his head touched the pillow, he was enlightened.

What made it happen? Simply resting in presence.

Waking up out of his thoughts and opening his heart.

He had prepared the ground for awakening through many years of practice.

Surrendering all the ‘doing’.

Relaxing back into awareness that was already there, he realized freedom.

A sacred pause. Letting go of ego and ceasing all effort.

We may not be able to ‘will’ surrendering but our inner wisdom knows that the pathway is surrender.

Our mind can be quiet and present. Our heart can be willing and prayerful.

But awareness does the work.

In the light and tenderness of Awareness, thoughts dissolve, bodily resistance softens, fears and grasping unwind.

Awareness illuminates its own presence – the truth of who we are.

It is not ‘I’ who does the surrendering, rather the tangles of the sense of self naturally release in the light of open, tender, non-doing presence.

The answer to ‘what more can we do’ may be, rest back in what is.

(Inspired by Tara Brach teachings.)